I'm human?
by RichaCo
Summary: Ridly's brain survived after Samus attacked Tallon IV... but his body didn't. The pirates did the only thing they could think of. Rated for language and other stuff. Rating went up. Complete!
1. Default Chapter

1Whoopty-doodley-doo! I'm starting another new fic! Boy, am I bored... anyways, I have done something that is very important to writing about something in this section... I have played one of the games. Prime to be exact. Still working in it, but bear with me. I know enough to start writing this and I hope that you all enjoy this!

Chapter 1: I'm human!?

------- Log 101-23-07: Tallon IV has been taken. Bioform Samus Aran, also known as the hunter, has infiltrated all facilities and laboratories on the planet, killing thousands of personnel, destroying all experiments, and killing Metroid Prime. Numerous destress calls were received by Command, but they stopped coming as soon as they arrived. Several scouring teams were dispatched to the planet, only to find that everything was destroyed. The scouring teams have managed to capture several local life forms and Metriods as well as enough Phazon to continue experiments. They also found the remains of powerful Geoform, Meta-Ridly, who was presumed to be destroyed by the Hunter. Miraculously, Ridly's brain had survived. Pirates were quick to contain it and brought it back to our home base. His previous body has been incinerated completely. Luckily, we have a plan that may put him on an even playing field as Samus Aran...-------

Ridly squirmed a bit as he regained consciousness. He woke up with a start. What a horrible nightmare... he had dreamed that Samus Aran was standing over him with her arm cannon. But it seemed so real. Several space pirates were gathered around him. He sighed with relief, glad to be back within a base. He tried to flex his wings... only to find that they weren't there! He looked over his shoulder in shock to find that he no longer had his large wings!

He looked himself over. Instead of his rubbery skin or the metal plating that had been added to him when he had been rebuilt, he found that he had ordinary pale human hands. He felt his head to find hair there. He looked at the pirates and growled. "What the hell have you done to me?!" he demanded. He quickly put a hand over his mouth. He had just spoken English! That foul language that humans used!

One of the pirates stepped forward. "Ridly, calm down. Let me explain what happened."

Ridly looked at the pirate with malice. "I'm listening..."

The pirate nodded. "You see, after we received word from Tallon IV that all of our Phazon mining and research facilities had been destroyed by the hunter, and that Metroid Prime was now dead, we sent several scouring groups to the planet to salvage whatever was still operational. We captured several Metriods and local life forms, along with a large vat of Phazon, meaning that we will still be able to continue our experiments with it."

Ridly stood up, ignoring the slight dizziness that he felt. "I don't give a flying fuck about that! Just tell me what the hell I'm doing in a human body!"

The pirate waved his hand, signaling for Ridly to calm himself before continuing. "Ridly, please... As I said, we sent scouring groups to see what they could find. They came across the remains of your body, which was mingled beyond repair."

Ridly shook his head and gave an ironic chuckle. "So it wasn't a dream. Samus actually did blow me to bits... again..."

The pirate nodded. "Yes, Samus did destroy your previous body. However, your brain somehow survived what had happened. We were able to contain it and brought it back here to the labs. Since your last body was destroyed and there was an insufficient amount of DNA to try and clone you a new body, our only other option was to give you a new body and pray that the brain would adapt to it."

Ridly growled and stood up. He really wanted to punch the pirate's lights out, but he would wait until after he heard what else they had to say. "So why a human body?" he asked. "Why not another pirate's body?"

The pirate continued. "Well, after several analysis', we finally managed to make a working replica of Samus' power suit." He motioned to another pirate who brought forward what looked like a black and grey version of Samus' power suit. "None of our units can fit into it or operate it. Besides, they would be crushed when they activated the morph ball feature anyway."

Ridly looked thoughtful and reached out, fingering the suit's arm cannon. "So, you completed this while I was on Tallon and when I was destroyed, you took this opportunity to create something that could actually use the suit?"

The pirate nodded. "That is correct, Ridly. You are the only pirate among us who is capable of wearing this suit."

Ridly chuckled again. "Destroying Samus with her own weapons... I like the sound of that."

The pirate pulled up some holographic images and pointed to them. "It is interesting. While you slept, your brain seemed to mutate a bit to the point where it actually functioned exactly like a human brain in a human body. You will feel human emotions, think like a human, talk like a human... basically, you have become a human, in a manner of speaking."

Ridly looked a little angry to learn this, but he decided that it was a small price to pay for this power. "Let me see what I look like now."

The pirate nodded and grabbed a large mirror, turning it so that Ridly could see himself. He was actually quite handsome. He looked young, around nineteen to twenty-five. His eyes were a piercing emerald green and his hair was a brilliant purple. It reached down passed his shoulders, flowing freely. The pirates had also been kind enough to supply some clothing as well. He wore a purple hoodie with a pair of green camouflage pants. His shoes were simple running shoes, the kind that athletes wore. He smiled slightly. "Tell command that Ridly is back... and get me the location of bioform Samus Aran now."

The pirates saluted and ran off. Ridly sat back down, eyeing the suit. He slipped on the helmet. And smiled. So this was what the hunter saw when in combat. A few of the switches interested him, so he tried them. The first one changed his vision so that he could look at something and scan it. He scanned several of the computer screens and received several of the files stored within. 'So, this is how she hacked into our files,' he thought. "She is quite resourceful..."

He tried the next one and saw that it turned everything purple. He looked over at a cryosleep tank that held a metroid. The metroid appeared to be a red color. A thermal scanner. That is how she dfeated the shadow pirates so easily...

He tried the final one and staggered a bit. It turned everything white and he saw through nearly everything. "X-ray vision... this technology is foreign to us..."

Curious about the other things that the suit could do, he tried it on. It took him a few tries to get into everything. He fingered the arm cannon lightly and saw the different settings on it. Power beam, wave beam, ice beam, and fire beam... such a large arsenal. And her infamous grapple beam.

He jumped into the air, suddenly feeling very light. He pushed up in the air and was launched up again. He could jump twice... that could come in handy...

He tried the morph ball and rolled around a bit, setting mines in places that he knew couldn't be harmed by them. He transformed back. "Wow... Samus has some incredible powers... I'm beginning to understand how she defeated us all those times..."

A pirate stood at the top of the stairs. "Good, you are already in the suit. Command have granted you permission to go after Samus on your own. They have located her on the planet Tropico, a paradise and a human resort. Your ship has been implanted with coordinates to the planet. But, if we call you back, you are to abort your mission immediately, no matter what the status or circumstances. Is that understood?"

Ridly smirked and ascended the stairs. "Yeah, it is. Now, if you will excuse me, I have some business to attend to."

Ridly walked to his ship, his mind filled with thoughts of revenge. "I'll finally get you, Samus. I will make you pay for destroying my beautiful body... You will pay for all the trouble you caused the space pirates... you will pay... with your life!"

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How was that for a first chapter? Pretty good, ne? Let me know and I'll continue it. Just remember that the rating may go up depending on how I choose to implement the rest of the story.


	2. The meeting

1Yosh! I thank you all for the reviews in my first chapter and several of your suggestions shall be taken to heart. I did receive some complaints as to what Ridley was wearing, but I shall make it better in this chapter. A bit more shall be explained and a bit of action shall take place as well.

Chapter 2: The meeting

--------- Log 123-76-98: The transplant for Ridley's brain was a success. However, several pieces of his brain were damaged as well including the speech lobe. We had no choice but to replace these parts with human brain parts... we are unsure of how this will effect his everyday activity. He still possesses the ability to understand space pirate speech, but he can now only speak human, and as such, he can understand humans as well. The body that his brain was placed in belonged to a young humanoid who had recklessly tried to invade space pirate territory. We were going to terminate him, but we spared his body... his brain has been subjected to Phazon experiments, causing it to corrode rather quickly. The power suit that Ridley now wears was built after some extensive research on some broken power suit pieces found aboard the sunken frigate. During our salvaging, we also dug up several Chozo graves for experiments. One of them still had skin upon it, so using that little DNA, we managed to infuse a bit of Chozo blood into the body as well. We also found no reason to change the clothing that the body wore, in case Ridley ever found the need to remove the power suit and go under cover. As he takes off for the planet Tropico in pursuit of Samus Aran. We continue our experiments here... but our cold facilities are beginning to malfunction and the Metriods that we have kept in captivity are beginning to regain their energy... ---------

Ridley carefully piloted his ship away from the main station. He put the engines on full throttle, trying to reach his destination, which really wasn't very far away, as fast as he could.

He smiled a bit and looked down at his power suit again. "I can now understand how Samus defeated us so easily all of these times... when I first met her, I thought that she was a complicated android... but bioscans and evidence of my eyes proved me wrong. She is much to flexible and skilled to be an android. I should have known better."

He gave a small chuckle. "I'm talking to myself... how pathetic is this?"

He frowned and looked out through the window of his ship, watching the stars race by at a high speed. It really was a very nice sight... but not one that he had time to admire. He had a mission to complete and he aimed to complete it... by any means nessicary.

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Samus sighed contently as she sank into the hotspring. She was staying at one of the many resorts on Tropico. It was her first vacation in a while and she was relieved to finally have a break. She was wearing a red two-piece bathing suit that hugged her skin nicely. Her ship was set next to the hot spring, just in case. She was just being a bit cautious right now... there were quite a few creatures in the universe who desired her death.

She closed her eyes and laced her fingers together. She blew a few strands of hair out of her face and looked around at all the foliage around her. It was peaceful on this planet... something that she was definitely not used to. But, it was nice to have a break from all the explosions and traps and excitement that she had to deal with when she was on a mission. Her thoughts suddenly went to Ridley... her dearly departed nemisis. She kept trying to convince herself that he was gone for good this time, but for some reason, she couldn't help but feel as if he was still out there, watching, waiting to strike at her...

She shook her head. Yes, she definitely needed this rest if she was ever going to get these paranoid thoughts out of her head. She shifted to a more comfortable position, but winced when she sat on a sharp rock. "Damn." she muttered, "you would think that they would at least check for things like this first." She grabbed the offending rock and threw it out of the pool.

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Ridley let out a small chuckle as he landed his ship near the resort. He looked out at it and snorted. "These stupid humans... they build these stupid resorts, but what's the point?"

He shrugged and exited the ship, cocking his arm cannon and walking towards the resort. When he reached it, he looked around and noticed several scarcely dressed humans staring at him. He smirked at them and raised his cannon threateningly, causing them to scatter like cockroaches when the light comes on.

He forced open the door and walked up to the front desk and slamming his fist down on it. "Hello there. I'm looking for a woman named Samus Aran and I have reason to believe that she is staying here."

The woman at the desk gulped. "I-I'm very sorry sir, but I'm n-not allowed to reveal any information without some identification."

Ridley laughed and raised his arm cannon at her, setting it on the plasma beam. "You want some identification? I'll give you identification if you don't tell me where Aran is!"

The girl nodded, but an officer stepped up and raised his gun at Ridley. "Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to step outside with me."

Ridley grinned. "Allow me to give you my answer to that request." He placed his hand on the man's head and twisted it until a hideous cracking sound came from the man's neck. His eyes glazed over and he dropped to the ground, dead.

The woman at the desk reached under the desk and pressed a red button. Alarms blared around her and a recorded message sounded. "RED ALERT! RED ALERT! ARMED MAN IN RECEPTION AREA! EXTREMELY DANGEROUS! ALL PERSONEL, EVACUATE IMMIDIATELY!"

Ridley smiled evily and raised his arm cannon again. "Perfect. An alarm like that will almost certainly lead Aran to me. Thank you... now, here's your reward." He fired his plasma beam... the poor woman didn't even have the chance to scream as her head and chest were incinerated by the intense heat, blood flowing from the bottom half of her body.

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Samus heard the sound of the alarms and the message. On instinct, she jumped out of the water and ran into the ship. She had no time to get her entire suit on or even some decent clothing on. She simply grabbed her arm cannon and slipped it onto her arm, running out of the ship and towards the reception area.

She burst through the front door and raised her arm cannon. When she saw who it was, she gasped. It was a man there, dressed in a power suit almost exactly like hers. He had his arm cannon out and was shooting in random directions. "Hold it!" she shouted.

Ridley stopped and looked over at her. He was a little surprised. He had never seen Samus outside of her power suit, but he knew that it was her because of her arm cannon. He smiled and raised his own cannon. "Well, well. We meet again, Samus Aran."

Samus cocked an eyebrow. "Have we met?" she asked. She couldn't recall a single person who had a power suit like hers.

Ridley laughed. "Not surprising that you don't recognize me. Allow me to give you a few hints. We first met on Zebes where you first killed me and mother brain. Then, we fought again after you brought that metroid in to the government. Then, we recently met again on Tallon IV where you completely destroyed my body."

Samus' eyes went wide. "It can't be... Ridley, is that you?"

Ridley smiled and nodded. "And you figured it out all on your own. Guess you aren't such a mindless bitch after all. Thanks to you, the pirates needed to put me in this godforsaken body!"

Samus growled. "Don't blame me! It was your own fault for getting in my way."

Ridley shook his head. "It doesn't matter now, because I shall destroy you here and now! Finally, revenge shall be mine!"

Samus raised her cannon and started charging her power beam. "Shove it up your ass, bastard!" She fired.

Ridley rolled out of the way and fired a missile at her. Samus ran up to the missile and jumped over it, landing on a table near Ridley. She fired off a missile of her own, but Ridley back flipped out of the way. "Very poor aim, Samus."

Samus frowned. "It would probably be easier if you would stay still!"

Ridley wiggled his index finger. "Please, what fun would that be?" He charged up his own beam and fired it. It hit Samus' arm cannon, short circuiting it. Samus clutched her arm, feeling the pain through the cannon. She had no choice but to slip it off of her hand. "Damn you."

Ridley smirked as he looked at her. Samus Aran, the greatest bounty huntress in the universe and the most feared enemy of the space pirates was now at his mercy! He raised his arm cannon and smiled. "Prepare to die, Samus Aran."

Samus sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for death to take her. Ridley was poised and ready... but, for some reason, he couldn't pull the trigger! His arm shook as he tried to pull it, but it wouldn't obey! 'Damn it, why can't I kill her?' he thought to himself.

He tried again, but before he pulled it, a beeping sound came to him. He pressed his hand to his visor. "Ridley here."

A pirate, sounding quite frantic, was the one speaking. "Ridley, abort your current mission and get back here NOW! Our freezing facilities have malfunctioned and an entire swarm of hunter metriods have gotten loose! We need your help to contain them ASAP!"

Ridley's eyes widened. "What! But I... I'm so close!"

The pirate sounded slightly more frantic. This pirate was on the command, so he knew that arguing with it was pointless. "Now is not the time for that, Ridley! Get back here now!"

Ridley growled, but lowered his arm cannon. "Yes sir." He said those last two words through clenched teeth. The communicator shut down and Ridley looked at Samus. "You are extremely lucky that we have such incompitent workers back at Command, Aran. This little feud of ours will have to wait, but rest assured that I will be back."

He ran out of the front door and boarded his ship, quickly turning on all the main engines, speeding back to the Command central station.

Samus picked up her malfunctioning arm cannon and started to walk back to her ship. She sighed. "So, Ridley is alive again and this time, he is in a human body with a replica of my power suit... this is not going to be a very relaxing vacation..."

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Ridley growled and punched the wall of his ship, leaving a dent in it. "God damn it! I was so close! She was at my mercy and all I had to do was pull the damn trigger and my revenge would be complete... so why couldn't I? She the bitch who killed me, what? Five times now? I've lost count of how many times she's wasted me!"

He slumped down in the pilot's chair, thinking. "The pirates did say that my brain, combined with this body would bring about changes in the way that I act and think... could it be that I'm experiencing emotion?"

He shook his head and spat at the word. "No! It can't be! My arm was just tired... yeah, that's it..."

He sighed as he neared the station. "Damn idiots..."

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A sentry pirate, in a room safe from the hunter metroids was now talking to the Command over a video communicator. "We are sorry, but the all of the cold weaponry is offline and our missiles only hold them back for so long."

The commander in the center shook his head. "That is not the reason we are speaking with you. A sentry camera that we sent to keep an eye on Ridley saw the battle that he and Samus had... he hesitated to strike the final blow and blew the opportunity."

The pirate looked rather uncomfortable. "So... what would you like us to do about this?"

The commander on the left spoke. "We fear that his brain may be adapting to humanoid traits to fast. This could be very hindering in the future... as such, once he has disposed of Aran for good... terminate him."

The pirate nodded, saluted, and walked off, ready to help the others defend against the hunter metroids that had gotten loose.

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Phew! What a chapter. I hope that you like this one and I apologize if I didn't please everyone who reads this story... but that would be humanly impossible. Everyone who reads the junk I wright is going to have at least one problem with it... but still, let me know what you think.


	3. Thoughts

1HELLO OUT THERE! I'm updating! YAY! Alright then, I'm at a bit of another loss for a few of my stories, but I will do my best. I need some support in all categories, so whatever you can give, I'll need. Well, with that said, let's see how Samus and Ridley are doing, ne?"

Chapter 3: Thoughts

Ridley took carful aim and fired, freezing the last of the hunter metroids that had escaped. The pirates quickly contained them and put them back into storage. One of the came up and saluted. "Thank you for your help, Ridley."

Ridley scoffed and headed off to his private quarters. He sighed as he closed the door behind him and flopped down on his bed. "They ruined it!" he complained to himself. "I had Samus Aran at gun point and they just had to let all those hunter metriods escape from captivitiy!"

He closed his eyes as another thought came to him. "Why... why couldn't I pull the trigger? She's killed me so many times without remorse. I should have been glad to have her dead... so why then?" he asked, his eyes opening again. "Could this be human emotion? Am I truly becoming more like what I despise the most?"

He walked over to his computer and opened several files that contained all the data he had on humans. He had never really read these before, but now he was curious. He read as much as he could, committing everything that was possible to memory. After about an hour of researching, he rubbed his head. All of this was so foreign to him... but he had to discover what had happened.

Finally, he found something that might actually help him. It read, "In humans, several emotions exist, many of which seem obsolete. Several examples of such emotions include:

Anger: a sudden rage towards a person, place, thing, or idea. Anger can sometimes cause humans to do very idiotic things.

Sadness: Deep sorrow or grief for something that was lost or a tragedy that has occurred. Sadness, like anger, can cause humans to do even more idiotic things.

Happiness: A large surge of joy towards another person, place, thing, or idea. Happiness is obsolete to us as it would only hinder our success rate.

Regret: An emotion that makes a human rethink their actions. It can make them hate what they have done in the past or what they are about to do."

Ridley stopped at this one. "Regret... could this be what I felt when I was about to kill Samus? But... how could that be possible? How could I regret killing her?" he asked himself. He sighed and looked at the last emotion on the list.

"Love: the most obsolete of all emotions, love is the fell one human has when he wishes to be another's mate. They go through a long and tedious courting ritual that has yet to be interpreted by us and they finally seal their mating with a ritual called 'marrage'."

Ridley frowned at the last one. "Love... it seems that we know more about all the other emotions than love. I must... investigate."

He rose from his bed and contacted the launch bay. The pirate there saluted. "Hello, Ridley sir. How can I be of assistance?"

Ridley dropped his hand, a symbol to be at ease. "I want you to prepare my vessel and have it equipped with the coodinates for the capital planet."

The pirate tilted his head again. "Going after the hunter again, sir? This time under cover?"

Ridley smirked slightly. "No, this time... it is a bit of a research expidition."

The pirate nodded, knowing better than to ask any further questions. He saluted and the connection ended. Ridley sighed slightly and he sat down on his bed, waiting for his ship to be refueled. "I need to find out as much about being human as I can..." he said to himself. "Even if it means that I need to act what I so despise."

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Samus sighed as she worked on her suit in the solitude of her own ship, which was currently floating on autopilot near the capital planet. She sighed as she tightened some loose bolts. "Ridley, how could this be? I killed you over and over again... why can't you just take a hint and stay dead for once?"

She shook her head and reached for a few loose wires, receiving a small electric shock in the process. She pulled her hand away with a yelp. Recovering, she finished what she had set out to do. After the final adjustments had been made, She walked over to the central computer and entered a few codes.

A large screen appeared in front of her and she opened up a large file that she had just created with the data she had gathered on Ridley's new form. She'd hacked into several space pirate computers for the information and found several interesting facts about what they were doing.

She pulled up a picture of Ridley's human body without his power suit, and whistled. "Wow, not half bad... muscular, flexible, quick, attractive, probably really good in bed..."

She mentally slapped herself and shook her head for thinking such a thing. This was hardly the time or the place to think of something like that. Besides, that was the body of her arch enemy. She couldn't afford to let sexual attraction get the better of her now. After she finished mentally scolding herself, she turned her attention back to the readouts. "Let's see... his power suit is almost an exact replica of mine, meaning that he would know all of my moves and I would know all of his... this puts us each at a stalemate..."

She sat back down near her suit. "This means that, in order to beat him... I'll have to learn more about him. I'll have to look up a bit about dragons." She redirected her ship's course towards the capital planet. "The library there should have plenty of information on what I need to find out."

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Well, what did you think... this chapter wasn't very exciting, but it did give us a bit more view on what the characters were thinking currently, ne? Tell me what you think and the next chapter will be up soon, hopefully...


	4. an unfortunate meeting

Sigh life can be a real bitch sometimes, can't it? Oh well, I'll just get straight to the story since that's what most of you came for, right?

Chapter 4:An unfortunate meeting

Ridley's ship landed smoothly in a docking bay, where it was quickly inspected. When questioned about several of the weapons onboard, he simply answered, "You can't be too careful around here." The authorities seemed to believe him and let him go without another thought.

Ridley smirked as he exited out of the ship and into the busy streets of the capital planet. "Big place... wonder where to go... where would I go for more information?"

A young man walked up. "If it's information you want, I would suggest the grand capital library, just up that street. They have information on almost every subject known to man."

Ridley simply nodded and walked by the man, heading in the indicated direction.

He soon came across a large building called the grand capital library, just as the boy had said. Hesitantly, he opened the door and walked in, gasping. He had never seen so many books and data banks in one place. Not even the holo-computer of the space pirates had this much data!

He began wandering around the place, looking at the titles of each of the books. "So much knowledge... free to anyone that seeks it... aren't they afraid that some of this could be used against them?"

He shrugged in response to his own question and kept looking through the books. A nearby librarian, seeing him looking rather confused, walked up. "Is there something I can help you with, sir?"

Ridley looked at her and was about to tell her off, when he realized that she must work here. He nodded. "Uh, yes... I'm, uh... looking for a few books on... human emotion."

The woman smiled gently. "Go straight down this isle and turn right into the next isle. You'll find all the books on human psychology and emotions in that section."

Ridley nodded to her and walked off, into the section that she had indicated. He looked around at all of the odd books around him. He finally found one that might provide the answers that he wanted. It was entitled, "Emotion: a guide for hearts of stone."

The title in particular interested him since he really wasn't sure if he had a heart of stone or not. He picked the book off the shelf and walked over to a nearby table. Sitting down, he opened the rather dusty book and began to thumb through the pages.

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Samus eased her own ship into a different docking bay, about a mile and a half away from the one Ridley had docked in about five minutes earlier. The officials, knowing this ship, found little need to try and scan it since it belonged to one of the greatest bounty hunters in known history. She was trusted by the military to an extent because of the outlaws she had aprehended.

Getting off of the ship, several people saluted her, but she just sighed and ignored her. Since she didn't really have to worry about being gunned down on one of the most secure planets in the galaxy, she wasn't wearing her armor right now.

She walked down the busy street, unaware that she was approaching the exact same location as Ridley. After a bit of walking, she found the library and smiled slightly. "Finally, now maybe I can get something done around here."

Without a moments hesitation, she entered the library, not a bit fazed by the amount of information around her. She walked around, thumbing through the titles. She had spent a bit of time here during her more calm missions. She knew her way around rather well. After a bit of searching, she came across several books that looked like they would help her, all of which were centered around Ridley's species.

She sat down at a table, unaware that she was sitting parallel to a certain purple-haired person...

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Ridley was so intent on reading the book, most would have mistaken him for a statue. He sat perfectly still, only moving every once in a while to turn the page, his eyes darting from word to word. Never in his life had he imagined the humans to have such complicated brains. Emotions just seemed so worthless if they could only make a person feel bad or good... or maybe there was more to it than that? Was it possible that Samus defeated him time after time because she was human, because she had emotions?

Ridley sighed. This was quite a conundrum... what to do? If we was developing emotions as well, then he needed to find a way to supress them... or they could be their own undoing.

He set the book down for a bit and looked up. His head froze in mid movement when he saw who was there. That face was unmistakable... that beautiful face... He shook his head and slapped himself mentally for even thinking that. 'Damn these emotions!' he though. He stood up slowly, his fist clenched. "Samus Aran..." he seethed.

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Samus was studying her own text very thorouly. Dragons seemed... rather odd. Not really concerned about anything except what they were trying to accomplish. They didn't seem to have any emotion what so ever... but if they didn't... why didn't Ridley pull the trigger? The only conclusion that she could draw was that some of Ridley's original brain matter must have been replaced. That would explain why he could speak and understand english.

She was still trying to figure out why he hadn't pulled the trigger when she heard someone saying her name with malice. She looked up and gasped. Standing at the table across from her, fists clenched, was Ridley in his human body. "You!" she said.

She stood up and dropped the book, being cautious. She was unarmed and it looked like he was as well. "What the hell are you doing here?" she asked.

Ridley growled. "I could ask you the same question. Besides, why would you give a flying fuck what I was doing?"

Samus walked around the table so that she was in the same isle as him. "I think that I would, considering that you are trying to kill me!"

Ridley's clenched fist relaxed a bit, seeing that she had come unarmed. "I see that you don't carry any weapons."

Samus nodded. "Neither do you. What's the matter? To scared of humans to even bring a weapon with you?"

Ridley growled again. "I fear nothing, Samus. I don't fear you nor any other human on this stupid mudball you call a planet." He smirked. "What about you? Since you are a bounty hunter, I would guess that several low-lives would find you quite valuable."

Samus cracked her knuckles threateningly. "All I need is my fists to make an impression on someone, Ridley."

Ridley chuckled. "Oh please, if that was true, why did you act like a coward and hide behind that arm cannon all those times that we fought?"

Samus smirked and shot back, "Well, if that is true, then you've sunk to my level, Ridley. You are just as much a coward as me since you no longer have your original body."

Ridley, at the loss of a comeback, charged at her and tackled her in the abdominable area, sending them to the floor. Samus reacted quickly and brought her feet up to his stomach and kicked him off of her. She stood up and lunged at him, her fists clenched. Ridley rolled out of the way before she could land a blow and stood up, aiming a kick at her stomach. Samus could only push herself up on her hands and feet, narrowly avoiding his kick. Ridley, although he hadn't meant to, couldn't help but notice the nice fine curves that her ass had in that position. Samus rolled back onto her feet and flung a punch at him. Ridley grabbed the fist and pushed it out of the way, but when he countered with a punch of his own, she leaned back and he uncurled his fist for some reason and tweaked her breast as his hand retracted.

Samus gasped and covered herself with her hand before slapping him across the face. "Pervert!" she shouted on instinct.

Ridley was forced back a step by the blow and he rubbed his stinging cheek. Why had it hurt so much? A normal slap like that would only cause a short sting, even in his human body. It had hurt far worse, even if he hadn't realized it. "W-we'll finish this another time, ARAN!!!" he shouted as he turned and ran out of the building. As soon as he was a good distance away, breathing a bit heavily, he rubbed his cheek. "Why? Why did it hurt so bad? I felt like... something had snapped in me as well... what's going on?" For the first time in his life, Ridley, the greatest fighter to ever come out of the space pirate ranks... felt afraid. He kept running until he reached his ship and he leapt into it, without waiting for the clearance, and took off.

--------------------

As Ridley had run off, Samus was a bit dumbfounded. He had just felt her up and she had slapped him. But when she looked at him again, she saw... fear? Hurt in his eyes? Was that even possible for him?

She sighed. A library official walked over to her. "Madam, I'm sorry, but due to the noise level, violence, and um, language, we are afraid that we must ban you from the library."

Samus fumed for a bit and stormed out of the building. "Damn you Ridley! I'll get you for this!" She sighed as she headed towards her ship. She absently took a few looks at the breast where he had squeezed her, half expecting to see a scar or something there. "Why the hell did he do that? He didn't really seem like the type to grope me..." She sighed. But, deep in her mind, she couldn't deny the fact that... she had actually enjoyed the contact a little...

She got on her ship and received the clearance before taking off. "Ridley... why do I feel this way?" she asked herself as she left the atmosphere again.

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There, there's your new chapter. I'm sorry if not everything in this fic is chronologically perfect with the games, but work with me! I just recently became a metroid fan when I started playing Metroid: Prime. So, I apologize about that, but please don't stop reading because of that! I'm trying, I really am! I'll get the next chapter up too, so please R/R? Puppy dog eyes


	5. My feelings

1Alright, here is the lowdown... I am learning the finer points of web design currently. As a result, I am trying to get all my fanfiction files uploaded there for all to enjoy. In the meantime, I have decided to focus on one fic at a time. I'm sorry, but that is the way that I will be. I chose this one because I currently have the most inspiration for it. Sorry, but I'll try my best.

Chapter 5: My feelings

Ridley was back at headquarters again. "I wonder... am I truly starting to feel things for Samus? Is it possible that I'm starting to build up to an attraction?" he asked, shuddering a bit. He walked up to the computer. "Computer, run a cat scan of my brain now."

The computer beeped and a few scanners lowered down from the ceiling. "YES SIR! NOW SCANNING..." The computer whirred and beeped as it scanned Ridley's brain. "SCAN COMPLETE!" it announced in it's usual monotone voice.

Ridley nodded in satisfaction. "Display results on screen, now!" he commanded. The computer complied and a digital readout of all of Ridley's mental capacities were displayed. Ridley almost fell backwards when he saw the readouts. According to the scan, his brain was now... 85 human?! "What the hell is this?!" he shouted.

The computer registered this as a question directed at it. "THIS IS A FULL READOUT OF YOUR MENTAL AND SUBCONSCIOUS CAPABILITIES."

Ridley growled. "I wasn't asking you!" He walked over to the intercom and typed in a few numbers. "Get me the high command, on the double!" The intercom beeped a few times and five large space pirates appeared on the screen. Even though he was less than thrilled with the current situation, he still had no choice but to salute to them. After that was done, however, He grabbed the screen and shouted, "Damn it, what have you done to me!?"

The command did not seem fazed by his outburst. The one to the far left spoke first. "Ridley, calm down. As we explained to you earlier, several essential pieces of your brain were so heavily damaged that we needed to replace them."

Ridley growled. "Yes, but eighty-five percent?! According to the scanners, only my memory and personality survived! Everything else, my animal instincts, judgement, emotions, everything else is human!"

The command nodded and the pirate in the middle said, "It was the only choice that we had, Ridley. We could have just as easily left what little there was left of you right there on the planet to rot. Now, onto something more important..."

Ridley shook his head. "Don't change the subject, damn it!"

The command seemed to flare up this time. "SILENCE!" they all shouted at once.

Ridley gulped and took a step backward. Evidently, this must be a rather important topic if they were getting so worked up about it. "Y-yes sirs..."

The command nodded and the one to the right of the one in the middle presented the topic. "We have been monitoring your progress regarding the elimination of Samus Aran. We are not pleased. You have had two opportune chances to finish her off, but you let them slip past you for reasons that we do not understand."

Ridley winced. "The first time, the trigger on my arm cannon was jammed... and the second time... I... I..." he couldn't think of a good excuse for the second time in the library.

The command sighed. The far right one answered, "Just as we thought. Ridley, we did not wish to take it this far, but if you are becoming attached to the hunter, as most humans do, then we cannot leave this mission in your hands. We will give you one final chance to finish Aran off... if you fail this time, then you will be subject to... disciplinary termination."

Ridley gulped. "Yes sirs..." he needed some time to think... to deal with all this new information. "Sirs, I would like to request a temporary leave of absence... I wish to go to the Kirok moon and do some... strategic planning."

The command seemed to consider this for a second. The one to the left of the one in the middle said, "Very well, Ridley. You are granted a week's leave. At the end of that week, you may return here for supplies and coordinates, but you shall not be allowed back into headquarters again until you bring us substantial proof that Samus Aran is dead."

Ridley saluted and turned off the intercom. He let out a deep breath that he didn't know he had been holding and went out of his room, back to his ship. The Kirok moon was one of the most peaceful spots in the universe. And the air was even breathable there so he wouldn't be restricted to his ship or wearing the helmet on his armor. He entered his ship and recieved clearance to take off. He did so and blasted off, full throttle towards the moon.

----------------

Samus sat in the pilot seat of her own ship, her power suit sitting on a table behind her. She took a sip from the hot coffee that she had in her hand. She just couldn't seem to shake Ridley from her mind. Why did he stay with her like this? He was just another person in the galaxy that wanted her dead now, right? She sighed and set the cup down. She could always try... talking to him.

She snorted, yeah like he would listen to her. They were arch enemies... well, more like rivals now. They did have respect for each other on the battle field, knowing that all their battles could have had a different outcome at any time.

She got up and walked around a bit, stretching out her sore legs. "I wonder... why do I feel... bad for him?" she wondered. She knew that the answer was somewhere in her subconscious, but she didn't have the luxury of a mental scanner, as Ridley did. She walked over to her computer. "What the hell is wrong with me? I never felt this way when he was a dragon... maybe it's because he's a fellow human now?" she asked herself. She shrugged, not having an answer to her own question. Feeling like she needed to blow off some steam, she booted up the shooting range simulator. It was programmed to read Samus' memories and create realistic targets for her to fire at.

She took aim as space pirates and metroids started to pop up in front of her. She started picking them off one by one, not one of them even getting a chance to raise their guns. It seemed as if she would beat her own score, but then, she saw him... Ridley, in his human form was standing there, his helmet off, his arm cannon aimed at her. Samus wanted to fire but... couldn't it was like a mirror version of what had happened at the spa.

She couldn't fire and by the time she was out of her stupor, it was to late. The simulation had fired and the words 'GAME OVER' blared across the screen. She gave a cry of rage and shut down the simulation. "Damn you Ridley! What the hell are you doing to me?!"

Samus was so confused right now... what the hell were these feelings that she kept having. "Stop thinking like this!" she scolded herself. "You know that, just like in the simulation, he wouldn't waste a chance to gun you down!"

The computer beeped a bit. "NEGATIVE. DATA SHOWS THAT, BACK AT THE SPA, HE HESITATED TO PULL THE TRIGGER ON HIS ARM CANNON, EVEN THOUGH HE HAD A POINT BLANK SHOT AT YOU AND NOTHING WAS STOPPING HIM."

Samus turned to the computer to try and make an argument, but nothing came out of her mouth. She sighed. "Maybe... I could try talking to him..." she said gently. Anything was worth a shot once. Unfortunately, when conversing with someone like Ridley, once chance was all you got. She turned to the computer again. "Scan the galaxy for bioform Ridley... she should be using a class S pirate battle ship."

The computer whirred as it tried to carry out it's command. "FOUND!" it announced. "BIOFORM RIDLEY IS CURRENTLY HEADED TOWARDS THE KIROK MOON, OBJECTIVE UNKNOWN."

Samus nodded. "Then set a course for the moon. That's where I need to go."

The computer beeped in response and started to blast off towards the moon... and ridley.

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The command was getting rather annoyed at Ridley's growing humanity. "We do not have long before he is completely alienated from us." said one.

Another nodded. "Yes, but he is currently the only one able to match Samus Aran... that is, until operation Metroid Core is ready."

The intercom flared and a space pirate appeared there. "Sirs, forgive my intrusion, but I have the information you wanted. It seems that both, Samus Aran and Ridley are headed towards the Kirok moon. What are your orders?"

One of the council spoke. "Send a cruiser after them... when they are both located on that moon, terminate both of them."

The pirate saluted. "Yes sir!" he said as the intercom shut off.

The council laughed and they spoke in complete syncronized fashion. "Soon, they will both be gone and then the pirates will have total control over this and every other universe!"


	6. One problem down several to go

1Yay! Another chapter! Contrary to popular belief, this fic is not nearing the climax, oh no! There is still a ways to go, but a few things shall be resolved this chapter. And I promise, that if I just so happen to make Ridley and Samus have sex, it will not be in detail. I don't write lemons, kay? Sorry to the perverts, you're welcome to the people who made up those odd love scenes in their reviews, lol.

Chapter 6: One problem down... thousands to go

Ridley smiled slightly as he neared the moon. Setting the ship on auto-landing, he went into his sleeping chambers and quickly put on his power suit, leaving the helmet where it was. The air was breathable and he didn't think that he would be doing battle with anything since... well, most of the creatures on the moon were harmless.

His ship made a smooth landing down on the ground in a large clearing of odd trees. The natural flora was much different than anything else, possibly because of nutrients that were in the soil. None of them were from earth, more specifically, the sun. On extremely rare occasions, the sun near the moon would give off a small burst of solar radiation. Although it was rather harmless to the flora and fauna of the planet, it did cause odd mutations in the soil nutrients that could affect the growth of the plants.

Ridley stepped out of the ship and looked around, taking in a deep breath. For the first time in his life, he was able to look around at things like this and... actually appreciate them. He smiled slightly, feeling very relaxed as he looked around at all the natural beauty. Every once in a while, a small bird or land-based animal would scamper across his path. He simply let them be, they weren't bothering him.

Finally, he came to a tranquil little hill that overlooked the moon's red sea. He sat down and finally managed to focus on the thoughts that had been bothering him for so long. 'Samus... what am I feeling? I feel... so tingly when I'm around her... and I feel so regretful when I hurt her now. What is going on? Is this that mysterious love that I've been hearing about?'

He sighed and looked around him. When he had first been transferred to this body, he had viewed it as a curse... but now, he wasn't sure what to think anymore. In this body, with this new brain, he had learned how to feel so many new things, to look at everything in a new light. "I don't know what to think anymore... but it seems that the only way that I would ever find my answer would be if... I asked Samus Aran..."

---------------

Samus touched her ship down on the moon about a mile from where Ridley had landed his. She too was wearing her power suit, but left the helmet off. She exited the ship and smiled at the scenery around her. She had little time to enjoy it, however. She had a mission to accomplish.

She walked through the forest at a brisk pace, rather tense. She knew that the natural flora and fauna were not dangerous, but... there was one creature on this moon with her that was. And that was Ridley himself. Then again, maybe he wouldn't kill her like that... she remembered the way that she had slapped him in the museum... he had seemed so... so sad and distraught. Like he had just lost one of the most important possessions.

She sighed as she walked, this was quite a conundrum. Then, she heard someone speaking to themselves up ahead and she distinctly heard her name being spoken. She cautiously raised her arm cannon and drew closer to the source of the noise. Then, in a brave move, she strode out into the clearing and gasped. "Ridley?" she asked.

Ridley jumped up at the sound of his name. "Samus!" he said, pointing his arm cannon at her. His arm was shaking however, knowing the he couldn't pull the trigger... he just couldn't. "What are you doing here, hunter?"

Samus frowned at the use of her nickname. "I was looking for you to be honest."

Ridley scoffed. "Planning to kill me again?" he asked.

Samus' frowned again. "No, I was going to ask you a few things."

Ridley tilted his head slightly. "Like what?" he asked, mildly curious.

Samus nodded and, in another bold move, lowered her arm cannon. "Like... why, with all of those opportunities that you had, why didn't you kill me?"

Ridley frowned. "Well... the first time, my arm cannon jammed and... and..." once again, he couldn't think of another excuse for the second time. He lowered his arm cannon and bowed his head, the helplessness that he felt now showing. "I'm just so confused, Samus! I don't know what to think anymore!"

Samus frowned and came closer to him, cautiously. Ridly seemed so... lost, almost like a child now. "Ridley, I know that a lot of your brain was... replaced, but why are you so confused if you are still you?"

Ridley looked up at her, scared to answer. However, he did manage to answer anyway. "Well... when I first got this body, I thought it was a curse... but since I got it and my brain, I... I've started seeing things so differently. Natural beauty, the stars, and even you."

Samus took a step back and blushed deeply. "M-me?" she asked timidly.

Ridley nodded. "Yes, you. Now, every time when I get around you, I feel... tingly, helpless, bashful."

Samus blushed deeper. "I... I feel the same way around you, Ridley."

Ridley blushed this time. "Really? But... what is it that we're feeling? Is it love or something else?"

Samus smiled at him. "Maybe this will help clear things up." She leaned in closer and timidly pressed her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

Ridley's blush deepened, but he returned the kiss with as much passion, maybe more.

Samus smiled as she pulled back. "What did you feel?" she asked.

Ridley smiled as well. "I felt warmth, belonging, compassion. Is that love?"

Samus nodded. "Yes it is, Ridley. That is love. I love you."

Ridley smiled and kissed her again. "I love you too... but what am I going to do? What about the space pirates?"

Samus thought for a second. "Quit. I'll teach you how to be human and we can be together forever."

Ridley smiled at her gently. "Together forever with you... no longer part of the space pirates? I would love it."

Samus smiled and stared at his eyes, playing with a lock of his purple hair. "Thank you... now, could you do me one more favor before we leave this moon?"

Ridley looked at her. "What would that be?"

Samus blushed crimson as she asked this. "Could you please... make love to me?"

Ridley blushed as well. "Well, I um... I don't know how humans do this... and I... I've never done it either."

Samus smiled and pushed him down on the ground, pressing the release button on her power suit, causing it to slide off of her easily. "Neither have I, Ridley... but we will just have to rely on instinct, right?" She started to peel off her tight-fitting jumpsuit and smiled as Ridley watched, open-mouthed.

She was now completely naked, but she kept her breasts covered out of modesty. She walked over and bent down in front of him, pushing the release button on his suit and sliding it off of him. "Oh Ridley! You have such a wonderful body!"

Ridley blushed at her compliment. "Well, thank you... so do you, Samus." He felt a bit more confident as he said this and removed his underwear quickly, blushing deeper as she stared at him.

Samus, feeling that she should take the dominate position until he got the idea, got on top of him.

--------------------

The space pirate frigate was getting close to the moon now, carrying about one-hundred pirates on it. The lead pirate smirked a bit as they neared it. Soon, two annoyances will be out of our way for good.

One of the pirates looked up at him. "Sir, I'm picking up sounds from Samus and Ridley, but... it seems..." he struggled a bit, unable to find the correct wording.

The lead pirate sighed. "Just put it on speakers!" The pirate complied and switched on the hyper sensitive speakers. As it turned on, several moaning sounds could be heard and an occasional scream, like, "Oh gods, SAMUS!" or "Ridley, I love you! Fuck me harder!"

The pirate quickly shut off the speakers. The leader growled. "How dare Ridley disgrace the name of the pirates by fucking a human?! Prepare to land and destroy them on sight!"

All pirates on the ship gave a cry of agreement as they neared the moon's atmosphere.

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DUN DUN DUN! Well, there's your new chapter and what a way to leave it, ne? There's your fluff and, like I said earlier, I do not write full-blown lemons, so there! Deal with it, pervs! Anyway, new chapter will be up soon, just R/R!


	7. The great escape!

1Okay people, it seems that there were a lot of mixed emotions about the last chapter I posted, so lets just get all this out of the way first thing, alright? I do not now, nor will I ever write a full-blown lemon in any of my fanfics. What you saw in the last chapter is as close as I'll ever get. However, anyone who wants to is welcome to make a mini-fic that features the sex scene between Ridley and Samus in a more descriptive manner, provided that I am given credit for which fic it is based off of. Secondly, to those who thought that this fic would just end with those two making love, you are dead wrong. I do plan to give this a much deeper plot than that, alright? Good. Well, I think that just about sums up all the complaints that I received. To those of you who gave me encouragement, suggestions, and random generic praise, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

Chapter 7: The great escape!

The space pirate frigate landed in the woods about five miles from where Ridley and Samus were situated. Several elite pirates along with stealth soldiers, air soldiers, and ordinary foot soldiers were called out to hunt them down. They quickly worked their way towards the underbrush, their orders were clear. Kill Samus Aran and Ridley without remorse.

----------------

Ridley sighed in content as he held Samus, his love, next to him. "I'm not going to lie to you, Samus, that was the greatest thing I've ever experienced."

Samus, who was laying next to him, smiled. "I'm glad that you enjoyed it so much, Ridley... but what now?"

Ridley tilted his head. "What do you mean?"

Samus sighed. "I'm a bounty hunter with a current mission of eliminating all space pirates and their technology... you are a commanding officer for the space pirates. I... I'm not sure if this will work out."

Ridley frown and held her closer, easily telling that she was trying hard not to show her hurt, that she was trying to stay strong. "Samus... I gave up my position as a space pirate officer... and a space pirate in general... when I found out how I really feel about you. To hell with the other space pirates. I'll even help you stop them."

Samus smiled at him. "Ridley, thanks. You really are my true love." She giggled.

Ridley chuckled and sighed gently. "Thanks, Samus... thanks."

Suddenly, there was a rustling in the bushes. Before either of them could react, several space pirates of different varieties jumped out of the bushes, their glowing eyes, as well as their silent rifles, were fixated on the couple. "Samus Aran and Ridley... by the order of the high command of the space pirates, you are both sentenced to termination. If you try to resist, then we shall only prolong your demise. If you cooperate with us, then we promise to make this as swift and as painless as possible."

Samus sat up, blushing intensely, even though she knew that space pirates had absolutely no interest in a human female's anatomy. She quickly covered herself and registered what she said. Ridley sat up and growled. "What the hell are you doing? What are the charges against me exactly?" he asked. He knew very well what they planned on killing Samus for, but they didn't know anything about his mutiny yet.

A large elite pirate stepped forward. He spoke in the same language that Ridley had known since his childhood, but Samus was unable to understand his side of the conversation without her visor, which held her translator. The elite pirate stated, "Ridley, although it is true that you were a commanding officer of the space pirates, and an admirable warrior, you have alienated yourself from us by not only taking on these disgusting human traits, but by also becoming mates with our sworn enemy, the hunter!"

Ridley's eyes widened. "Damn you all. But wouldn't the high command like us captured instead? I mean, Samus has been with the human federation before, surely she knows some of their secrets and defensive strategies."

Samus looked at him. "What the hell are you doing?" she asked gently.

Ridley smirked. "Buying us time... if they go for this, then they will go through space pirate protocol and start to read us our rights... when they do this, hit the bottom center button on my arm cannon... it's an emergency beacon auto pilot for my ship."

Samus nodded and waited to see if the pirates would actually fall for Ridley's bluff. It was true that she had been in contact with the federation many times, but they had simply been meetings and briefings for her missions, or when she received her payments. She knew absolutely nothing about the federation's defenses or military strategies.

He pirates watched them carefully. The power suits were a safe distance away from them. The closest thing to them was Ridley's arm cannon that rested next to samus' hand, but the barrel was facing her and she would have to turn it around and take another five seconds to slip it on. By that time, they would easily be able to kill her. The pirate nodded. "You do have a point, Ridley. Very well." He made a waving motion with his hands and the other pirates raised their rifles above their heads while the elite pirate started to recite their rights, which were rather limited.

While this was happening, Samus slowly inched her hand over to Ridley's arm cannon. She was lucky that all the pirates seemed very bored with their leader reciting the same things that they had heard so often. She pressed the bottom center button and it blinked from red to green to blue in that order.

As the pirate finished reciting the rights, he looked at them. "What a glorious day that this is for the space pirates. We eliminate two potential threats and then we take over the universe with the ingenious 'metroid core' operation."

Ridley raised an eyebrow. "Metroid core? What the hell is that?"

The pirates all chuckled in unison. The elite pirate smiled. "I guess, since you won't be here to admire what your former troops are going to do, I guess it doesn't hurt to tell you. You see, at the center of every planet is the core, essentially the heart of planet. Metroids feed off of every type of energy they can find. We have invented a special type of miniature missile that we can place metroids into. These missiles will be able to hit a planet at such a fast velocity, they will be able to blast straight through the minor layers of a planet and eject the Metroids near the core. When this happens, they will sense the immense amount of energy from the core and fly straight towards it. When they find it, they will suck the core dry. And with no core to keep it alive, the planet in question will wither and die."

Ridley chuckled. "But the layers of earth near the core are so hot that surely the metroids would be burnt to a crisp, correct?"

Now it was the pirate's turn to chuckle. "Wrong, Ridley. During your absence, we ran several tests on the temperature survival characteristics of the metroids. As it turns out, while they are very easy to kill in colder regions, they thrive in heat. Experiments have shown that they can survive in temperatures equal to the center of the sun!"

Ridley smiled. "Well... there are two other things wrong with your plan." The pirate cocked an eye. "We will be around to stop this from happening... but you won't be around to see us stop it." He pointed up.

The pirate didn't even get the chance to see what happened before Ridley's ship landed on him, crushing him and several other pirates to death. The other pirates scattered in the confusion.

Samus smirked and grabbed her things, including all the pieces to her power suit. "Come on, Ridley, time to go!"

Ridley nodded and grabbed his own power suit and ran on board, hopping into the pilot seat and engaging the main engine. "Where did you land your ship, Samus?"

Samus looked at their current location. "About three clicks to the northewest of this moon's gravitic tilt."

Ridley nodded and eased the ship off the ground as the few pirates who hadn't fled from the scene started to fire at the ship with their rifles. It was in vain. Ridley's ship was made to deflect all ground based weaponry. He quickly flew over to where Samus' ship was and activated an emergency magnetic attraction. Samus' ship was pulled upward onto his. "We're linked. Now, let's get out of here. Buckle up, it could get a little bumpy."

Samus nodded and jumped into the seat next to his and quickly put on all the safety harnesses as the exited the atmosphere for the moon. She looked at Ridley gently. His expression was hard, cold, just like when he was a dragon. "Ridley? What did that pirate say to you?"

Ridley sighed and was about to answer when a loud alarm blared. "Uh-oh! I think that this may have to wait, Samus... they set up a blockade for us!"

Indeed, they had set up a blockade. Three large space pirate frigates were there, all armed and ready to fire at them. Samus gulped. "Can we escape?"

Ridley looked down at the controls. "We can, but I need to get to the other side of those frigates to do it. It's risky, though. If the front guns don't get us, then their rear cannons just might."

Samus smirked. "What other choice do we have? Besides, My whole life has been one big thrill ride anyway. This is just another twist on it."

Ridley chuckled. "Right... enter the coordinates for the federation planet into my navi-computer. I think that we'll be safe there for right now." Samus nodded and pressed several buttons, entering the galactic coordinates for the federation planet.

Ridley turned a few knobs. "Computer, alter our course to g-7 and engage those frigates at point blank range. I want all power that can be spared to be reverted back to the shields."

The computer whirred a few times before a clearly feminine, yet monotone voice said, "All power that is not being used by the engines has been sent to the shields, which are now functioning at 194. However, the odds of surviving a direct assault against three space pirate frigates is calculated at 153,392 to 1."

Ridley smirked. "Never tell me the odds." He looked to Samus. "Ready?"

Samus nodded. "I'm ready."

Ridley smiled and rammed the thrusters on, sending them straight towards the frigates. The frigates responded by firing several rounds off at them. Ridley did his best to avoid them, but they were taking a lot of damage. Samus gulped. "Ridley, we've got to hurry! Our shields are now only functioning at 47!"

Ridley nodded. "I know! Don't worry, we're almost clear!" He pulled up and away from the frigates as he appeared behind them, but the frigates did not cease their firing. Ridley was quick to react. "Computer, quick! Activate the gravitic warp and proceed straight to the coordinates located in the navi-computer!"

The computer beeped in response and in half a second, the entire ship seemed to disappear, reappearing in something that could be called a wormhole.

Samus sighed with relief, but looked over at Ridley. "Alright, we're safe now... could you please tell me what is going on?"

Ridley nodded and got up, stretching a bit. "Apparently, the high command now sees me as nothing but an inferior beings because I'm human now."

Samus frowned. "But that isn't right! They're the ones who made you this way in the first place!"

Ridley nodded. "They knew that this would happen, Samus. They were prepared to terminate me as soon as I had outlived my uses in this form."

Samus growled. "Those bastards! How could they do this to you?"

Ridley waved it off. "We have more important problems right now, Samus." He quickly recited what the pirate had told him about operation metroid core.

Samus paled as he recited this. "But... can they really do that with metroids? I mean, destroying an entire planet by getting them to absorb the energy?"

Ridley shrugged. "Apparently."

The computer beeped. "It will be approximately five hours before the destination is reached."

Ridley nodded. "Samus... I... I know that this may be a bad time to ask, but... could you... could you teach me how to be human when we get to the federation planet?"

Samus smiled at him and walked up, kissing him gently, moving a few purple locks out of his face. "Ridley... of course I will." She kissed him again.

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There you have it, more plot for you to munch on and consider until next time. I know that the part about metroids being able to survive in that kind of heat is highly unlikely, but work with me, alright? Read and review and I'll get the next chapter up soon... if you people are still reading it by then...


	8. What humans do

1Hello again! I bring you a standard interlude chapter. This chapter doesn't really feature any important plot development, but it's more of a way to get Ridley to interact more with humans. I hope that you all enjoy it.

Chapter 8: What humans do

A nervous pirate walked into the quarters of the high command. Very few pirates had ever seen them face to face and ever walked out of that room alive. Actually, he really couldn't call it face to face since, even when they were facing you, you couldn't tell who, or what, they really were. They stayed safely hidden in the shadows for some reason. He trembled a bit as he walked to the center of the room, the only part that had any light at all. "Y-you asked to see me, sirs?"

Several pairs of glowing red eyes stared at him eerily. "Yes." The voice seemed to come from everywhere at once and It was impossible to tell if only one of them was speaking since they all sounded exactly alike. "We want a full report on how operation Metriod core is doing."

The pirate cleared his throat nervously. "Well, we have managed to finally take the implant missiles out for a test run, but... there were some complications."

"Such as?" the voices asked in a mildly annoyed tone.

The pirate shuddered visibly. "W-well, the missile did impact the planet successfully and the impact did cause the missile to get drilled into the planet's surface down near the core, but before it even reached the atmosphere, the metroids had somehow eaten their way through the metal and gotten out of the missile."

The high command made some disagreeable sounds. "Very well then. Install some sub zero air conditioners into the missiles. That way, while it won't be powerful enough to freeze the metroid completely, it will keep them docile long enough for the missile to impact."

The pirate raised his hand. "I am sorry sirs, but... doing so could have some bad side effects. Metroids can survive in temperatures of extreme heat, yes, but only if they enter it from a mild temperature area. If we do install those air conditioners and they are ejected from a low to high temperature like that at such a fast rate, it could cause their membrane to crack, killing them."

The command growled. "Do not argue with us! Operation metroid core will be completed and operational on schedual! If that means that we must risk a few casualties, then so be it! You are dismissed!"

The pirate saluted and quickly hurried out of the room. The command chuckled. "All shall be ours. No one will stop us now... and Samus and Ridley shall be no problem now... Their weakness is now each other." Maniacle laughter could be heard ringing throughout the station.

------------------------

Ridley had to admit that he was very nervous about this. How would he do as a human? He barely knew anything about what they did in their daily lives. The only things that he really understood were their language and how their minds worked. That was it.

He sighed as he touched the ships down in a docking bay, being careful about Samus' ship. He and Samus had taken the time to put on clothing during the flight, since Ridley did have some modesty now that he was human. "Well... here we are..." he said gently.

Samus smiled. "Are you nervous?" she asked gently.

Ridley nodded gently. "Yes..." he admitted.

Samus leaned in and gently kissed him. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you, I promise."

Ridley smiled. "Thanks, Samus. I know you won't." He opened the docking bay door and the both walked out, Ridley wincing a bit at the light. "Damn, this is bright. Turn off the sun or something."

Samus giggled a bit. "Oh stop it, Ridley. Come on, let's go!" she said excitedly, grabbing his hand and leading him along.

Ridley gulped slightly. "Wait, where are we going?"

Samus smirked. "You'll see!"

-------------

Samus and Ridley now stood outside of an interesting place. At least it was interesting to Ridley. A large neon sign on the outside said, "Kareoke bar." He tilted his head. "What is... Kar-e-o-kay?"

Samus giggled. "It's a form of freeform singing basically. You'll get it when we go in."

She led Ridley in and he looked around it like a little kid at a carnival. He had never seen anything like it, really. It wasn't anything fancy, just a few round tables with people sitting there, a stage with a large sound system on there. "Wow..." he said gently.

Samus smiled. "You like this place?" she asked.

Ridley nodded. "Yeah, but what do people do here?"

Samus grinned and led him over to a table, making him sit down. Ridley sat there and watched her curiously as she went over and talked to a man near the stage. Then, she walked up there and got in front of the microphone. He smiled a bit, she did look slightly nervous about this.

Samus cleared her throat as the room was suddenly filled with the sound of music. Ridley jumped a bit, not really expecting this. Then, watching Samus intently, he smiled as she started to sing.

'Sweet dreams are made of ease.

Who and I to disagree?

I've traveled the world

and the seven seas.

Some people want to use you,

Others, they want to be used.

Some people want to abuse you.

Others, they want to be abused.'

The song looped a few times and Samus let out a deep breath as it ended. Ridley whistled and stood up, applauding. Samus blushed a bit and hurried off the stage to him. "How was that, Ridley?"

Ridley grinned. "That was wonderful. I never knew that you could sing."

Samus giggled. "You never really thought to ask, did you?"

Ridley blushed a bit. "No, I guess I didn't..."

Samus giggled again. "Why don't you give it a try?"

Ridley immidiatly started to shake his head, no. "No, I can't sing. I'd just make a fool of myself."

Samus frowned a bit. "Aw come on, Ridley, please? You'll do fine, I'm sure of it!"

Ridley sighed. How come she had to be so damn convincing. He shrugged and walked over to the man who apparently ran the thing. "Uh, how do I select a song?"

The man smiled. "You just tell me which song you want from the list and I'll get it started for you."

Ridley nodded and looked over the list of possible songs until he came to one he thought that he might like. "I'll take... where is the love, please."

The man nodded. And pressed a few buttons. "Alright, it's all set. Just step up there and let me know when you're ready."

Ridley nodded and stepped up onto the pedestal, still nervous beyond all reason. The fact that Samus was staring right at him like that did not help him any either.

He cleared his throat as Samus had done and the lights dimmed and soft music started to play. He took a deep breath and began to sing as the words appeared on the screen next to him.

'What's wrong with the world, mama?

People living like they ain't got no mamas.

I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama.

Only attracted to things that'll bring the trauma.

Overseas, yeah, we're tryin' to stop terrorism.

But we still got terrorists here in the U.S.A.

The big C.I.A.

The blood and the cripples and the K.K.K.

But if you only have love for you own race,

Then you only leave space to discriminate.

And to discriminate only generates hate.

And when you hate, you're bound to get irate.

Yeah, badness is what you demonstrate.

And that's exactly how anger works and operates!

Man, you gotta have love just to set it straight,

Take a toll to your mind and meditate,

Let your soul gravitate to the love, y'all, y'all!'

Samus smiled as he sang. He didn't know what he was talking about, he sang beautifully for a first timer. It was almost as if... he had heard this song before... wait, was that possible?

'People killing, people dying!

Children hurt and you hear them crying.

Can you practice what you preach?

And would you turn the other cheek?

Father, father, father help us!

Send some guidance from above!

The whole words got me, got me questioning:

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love, the love, the love?

It just ain't the same,

All ways have changed,

New days are strange,

Is the world insane?

If love and peace are so strong,

Why are there pieces of love that don't belong?

Nations dropping bombs,

Chemical gasses filling lungs of little ones,

With ongoing suffering

While the youth are young,

So ask yourself:

Is the loving really gone?

So I can ask myself:

Really, what is going wrong

In this world that we're livin in?

People keep on givin in.

Making wrong decisions,

Only visions of them giving in

And not respecting each other!

Denied, thy brother!

A war's going on,

But the reason's under cover.

The Truth is kept secret,

It's swept under the rug,

If you never know truth,

Then you never know love!

Where's the love, y'all? C'mon!

(I don't know.)

Where's the truth, Y'all? C'mon!

(I don't know.)

Oh where's the love, ya'll?

People killing, people dying!

Children hurt and you hear them crying.

Can you practice what you preach?

And would you turn the other cheek?

Father, father, father help us!

Send some guidance from above!

The whole worlds got me, got me questioning:

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love, the love, the love?

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder.

As I'm gettin older, y'all, people gets colder!

Most of us only care about money-making.

Selfishness got us following the wrong direction.

Wrong information always show 'bout the media.

Negative images is the main criteria.

Infecting the young minds faster than bacteria.

Kids wanna act like what they see in the cinema's!

YO!

Whatever happened to the values of humanity?

Whatever happened to the fairness and equality?

Instead of spreading love, we're spreading animosity.

Lack of understanding leading us away from unity.

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under.

That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down.

It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under.

Gotta keep my fail alive till love is found!

Now, ask yourself:

Where is the love?

Where is the love?

Where is the love, the love, the love?

Sing with me, y'all!

One world, one world!

That's all we got.

One world, one world!

We only got,

One world, one world.

And something's wrong with it,

Yeah!

Something's wrong with it.

Yeah!

Something's wrong with the w-w-world, yeah.

We only got,

One world, one world.

That's all we got,

One world, one world.'

The song ended and everyone in the room stood up and started to applaud him. Ridley, rather glad that it was over, got down off the stage. Samus ran up and planted a soft kiss on his lips. "That was wonderful!"

Ridley smiled at her, chuckling. "Unnerving is exactly what that was, Samus."

Samus smiled. "Still, you were wonderful!"

Ridley smirked as they walked out of the place. "Where to next?"

Samus thought about it for a second before grinning. "Let's go to the amusement park!" she said. She once again started to lead him along, walking quickly towards a large amusement park.

As they entered it, Ridley was once again looking around like a kid at Christmas. "Wow... what should we do first?" he asked.

Samus smirked and pointed to a large roller coaster. "We're going on that."

Ridley stared at the ride for a few seconds before walking over to it. He really didn't know what to expect with it. He took his seat next to Samus. "What does this do anyway?" he asked.

Samus grinned. "You'll find out." The safety harnesses went over their heads and the car started to slowly move up the tracks. Ridley gulped and gripped the bar tightly. What the hell was going on?"

Suddenly, they reached the top of the tracks and Ridley let out a loud shout as they started to descend at a fast rate. "OH GOD I'M GONNA DIE!" he shouted. He could fight off numerous enemies and control a space shuttle without a hitch, but this ride was his undoing.

After the ride, Samus got off, still smiling. She had been on quite a few roller coasters in her life, this one was nothing special. But, Ridley... well, he got off, shuddering and staggering. "Samus, you know I'm gonna get you for this, right?"

Samus giggled and feigned innocence. "I have no idea what you are talking about, love."

Ridley growled, but followed her. They went through several other rides before exiting them, most of them Ridley could have done without, as symbolized by his numerous trips to the trash cans around the park. Samus finally decided that he could use a break and led him out of the part. "Are you alright, Ridley?"

Ridley nodded. "I'm fine, just give me a moment to make sure that I still have some bodily fluids left."

Samus smiled and kept walking. "I guess we should find a place for you to rest, right?"

Ridley nodded and smiled a bit as they entered a hotel. Samus paid the man for a night and led Ridley upstairs to their room. "So, what did you think of today?"

Ridley sat down on the bed. "You humans have the strangest ways to amuse yourselves... but I had fun today. I don't think that I'll have a problem being human." He smirked and lay down.

Samus smiled and got onto the bed next to him, kissing him gently. "Sleep well, Ridley."

Ridley smiled and put his arms around her. "Sleep? Who said that we had to go directly to sleep?" he asked, kissing her jawline gently.

Samus moaned. "But Ridley... what about the space pirates?"

Ridley smirked and cupped one of her breasts. "What about them, love?"

Samus moaned again. "We have to... to... aw screw it!" she exclaimed, kissing him roughly. She knew that she had lost this argument, he was just to damn good to ignore.

Ridley smirked a bit. Score one for him.

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There's another chapter for all of you to point and laugh at. Like I said, no real plot development, more of an interlude than anything else. Just tell me that you enjoy it, lol.


	9. a plan fufilled

1Hello again! I am here at last with a new chapter to the ficcy! Yay me! Not much else to say, so I'll just get the story rolling, kay?

Chapter 9: A plan in motion

A large, ominous ship now hung over the capital planet. Several space pirates were on board, making the final calculations for the launch. The intercom buzzed. "Attention all personnel! Our time of triumph is at hand! Prepare to launch the the metroid missile!"

All the activity on the ship was ceased as the missile was dropped, and it started falling, pulled in by the planet's gravity. Within it, several metroids bounced around, half asleep due to the cold within it.

It entered the atmosphere, the friction causing the missile to heat up to an unbearable level. But the metroids remained unfazed.

It kept going closer and closer...

------------

Ridley chuckled and sighed, content. "Samus, that was unbelievable!"

Samus giggled a bit, hugging Ridley. "Tell me about it, Ridley. That was just so wonderful. I love you so much."

Ridley grinned and gave her a soft kiss. "I love you too... and I knew that you had some stamina, but damn! Twelve times?"

Samus smirked and kissed his neck. "You're just that irristsiable, Ridley.

Ridley chuckled again. "Wanna make it thirteen?" he asked hopefully.

Samus grinned. "Why not?"

Just before they were able to get ready for another round, there was a loud crash, right outside the building. They both looked at each other, fear in their eyes before they leapt up and grabbed all of their clothing and armor before heading downstairs. As they exited, right in front of them was a large missile. Ridley gulped. "It's space pirate build, Samus."

Samus growled gently. "Damn it! They've perfected it?"

Ridley nodded and walked over to it, examining it. He shook his head. "We have to get out of here!" he shouted suddenly. "The metroids have already made it past the crust and are heading to the inner layers!"

Samus gasped. "Ridley, we've got to stop them!"

Ridley shook his head. "There isn't any time, Samus! There's nothing we can do since they're so far under the surface! Our only option is to evacuate the planet and get off of it before the decay starts!"

Samus looked like she was about to weep, but she sucked it in and nodded. "Come on, we need to get to the government office, now!" She grabbed his hand and started to run towards the government building, half dragging Ridley with her.

As they ran, Ridley could feel the earth shake under them slightly, showing that the metroids were not only starting to drain the life force of the planet, but they were also shifting around the plates of the planet's structure! "Samus, this is more serious than I thought! They metroids are absorbing so much energy that they've started to grow too quickly for the planet's mass to handle! If they keep this up, this whole planet's gonna get blown sky high!"

This only encouraged Samus to run faster. "God damn them!" she shouted, rushing into the governmental building, rushing by any security guards that barred her path. She burst into the federation council's office and started breathing heavily as the council gave the two strange glances. "Samus Aran? What are you doing here?" one of them asked.

Samus managed to gather her breath before saying, "This entire planet is going to explode soon! We have to administer a full planetary evacuation!"

The council chuckled at this. "Easy Samus, if there was such a danger, then we would know."

Ridley came forward. "But this a deeper matter than that! Metroids have been injected into the earth's inner core and they're sucking all the energy out of the planet and they're growing so fast that they'll make the planet burst if this continues!"

Once again, their pleas were answered with laughter. "Come now, I don't suppose that you have any proof that metroids are under the earth's crust?"

Samus sighed in exasperation. "How about the giant missile that's lodged in the street in front of our place?" she asked, slightly sarcastically.

Once again, the council ignored her. "That could have been an attempted terrorist attack. We'll put the force on alert for them, don't worry miss Aran."

Samus was about to snap at them, but Ridley placed a hand on her shoulder. "Samus, don't waste your breath. They aren't going to listen to reason. We need to get off the planet before we get destroyed along with it."

Samus frowned at Ridley. "Ridley, I can't leave all these people here to die! If they won't listen, I'm going to find someone who will!" She quickly ran out of the building.

Ridley ran up and grabbed her arm as they exited the building. "Samus, there isn't any time! By this time, the metroids must have exausted most of the energy from the core! We need to get out of here before the planet explodes!"

Samus shook his head. "I won't let all these innocent people be killed, Ridley! I won't!"

Ridley ground his teeth together. "Very well, if you won't come willingly, I'll bring you along the hard way!" He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her up, hauling her over his shoulder. She started to struggle, but Ridley held her fast and started to run as fast as he could towards the hanger where their ship was.

Samus kicked and pounded against his back with her fists. "Ridley, let me go NOW!"

Ridley ignored her and entered his ship, which was still attached to Samus' by means of grappling cable. He closed the door and put Samus down on the co-pilot seat and quickly bound her with the restraining belts. Still, she struggled against him. "Damn it, Ridley! I said let me go now!"

Still, Ridley didn't pay any attention to her and sat down in the pilot's seat. "Initiating launch sequence..." he said calmly. As soon as he received clearance, he blasted out of the hanger, straight up and out of the planet's atmosphere. Then, he turned the ship around so that they could see the planet. It already looked as if it was decaying! The oceans seemed to be deminishing and the patches of green on it were quickly withering into patches of brown and yellow. Finally, it seemed as if the entire earth was turning red and cracking. About five seconds later, the entire planet exploded in a brilliant flash of white light. Chuncks of rock from it were hurled in every direction and pieces of the metroids that had been eating the earth's energy could be seen flying past them as well.

Samus' eyes were wide in horror as she looked at the destruction of a planet that had served as her home for so long. It was gone... all gone. Ridley got up and unstrapped the restraining harnesses from her. "I'm sorry, but there was no time, Samus. I didn't want to lose you."

Samus jumped up and started at him, angry. "You... you..." she didn't finish her though. She just broke down in his arms and started crying. "Ridley, it's gone! All those people, my home, OUR home! All gone!"

Ridley nodded, gently hugging her and rubbing her back. "Shhh.... Samus, don't cry. It'll be alright. The pirates won't get away with this, I promise. They will pay for what they've done."

Samus dried her tears and nodded. "Yes... yes they will." She sat back down in the co-pilot's seat. "Ridley, we're paying the pirate command a visit. Set a course for their base, seeing as you're the only one who knows the coordinates for it."

Ridley smirked and sat down next to her. "Eye-eye!" He tapped the main computer a few times. "Computer, set a course for the Kimoron star system, planet seven."

The computer beeped in response. "Request processed. Estimated time to destination: ten hours."

Ridley nodded and looked towards Samus. "I'm sorry."

Samus smiled at him, her first genuine smile since they had gotten off the earth. "No, you don't have to apologize. I understand that you didn't want me to get hurt. I'm sorry that I put up a resistance... but now we're going to make sure that all of those people get their revenge for what the pirates did."

Ridley nodded. "I'll do all I can to get them back for what they've done. I can't forgive them. I'm done with that life." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I have a new life now."

Samus nodded. "So do I, Ridley... So do I."

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Well, what do you think? Like it? Hate it? Lemme know! R/R, people! The next chapter will be up soon!


	10. The journey begins

1Hi All! New chapter time! Now, before we begin, I think that I should clear up something that I have said before. I am currently in a state of chaos in my personal life, so that is why I do not possess the ability to crank out so many updates at one time as I used to. Eventually, my life shall calm down again, but until then, I have decided to work on only one fic at a time. And guess what? This is the fic that I chose first. I will be working on my FFCC fic next, followed by my four swords fic, then my Sonic/Inuyasha crossover. After that, new fics will soon follow, but I must ask you to please be patient with me. Thank you.

P.S. Please do not use the review function as an email function. It is against the rules of to use it for message board purposes or to make demands that are not related to the story. If you are going to demand that I update other fics other than this one, please either send a review to the appropriate fic about it, or use my new email address at . Thank you. Now, with all that said, I think that we can get on with the fic.

Chapter 10: The journey

Samus sighed of boredom as they flew through hyperspace. It had only been one hour out of ten before they reached the home world of the space pirates. She was still seething from what they had done, destroying an entire planet like that.

Ridley sat next to her, watching her as she stayed still. He wanted to say something, to make her better, but what to say? How could he make her feel better after she had witnessed the entire human race go up in flames like that? He opened his mouth to try and speak, but a beeping from the control panel interrupted him. "ATTENTION ALL PASSENGERS! HYPER DRIVE ENGINE IS OVERHEATING! IF HYPER DRIVE IS NOT ABORTED IMMEDIATELY, ENGINE SHALL ERUPT!"

"Damn it!" Ridley cursed, quickly pressing some buttons, easing the ship out of hyperspace. There was a small explosion in the back of the ship. "What the hell was that?" he asked.

The computer beeped helpfully. "THE HYPER DRIVE ENGINE HAS OVERHEATED AND EXPLODED. WARNING: DUE TO EXPLOSION, NORMAL ENGINES ARE NOW ONLY FUNCTIONING AT HALF CAPACITY."

Ridley hit the controls in anger. "Aw, fuck it! As if it could get any..."

Before he could finish his statement, Samus put a hand over his mouth. "Don't say it, Ridley. Every time anyone says that, it always get's worse."

Ridley nodded, glad that she was at least talking again. Samus removed her hand from his mouth and stood up. "I'll go and take a look at the engines. I might be able to fix them a bit, but I doubt that I can bring them back up to full capacity."

Ridley nodded and tossed her some earmuffs. "You're gonna want those. Even at half capacity, it can get pretty loud down there."

Samus smiled and put on the earmuffs. "Thanks a lot. I'll be back soon." She blew him a kiss before heading down into the engine room.

Ridley smiled a bit as she went to the engine room. He turned back to the computer. "Computer, keep our current coordinates and analyze how long it will take us to reach our destination in conventional space."

The computer whirred a beeped a few times before presenting it's answer. "CALCULATION COMPLETE. IN CONVENTIONAL SPACE, IT WILL TAKE APPROXIMATELY THIRTEEN DAYS, SEVEN HOURS, EIGHT MINUTES, AND THIRTY-SEVEN SECONDS TO REACH THE INPUT DESTINATION."

Ridley's eyes widened. "Two whole weeks!?" he shouted. "What the hell? We only have enough rations for three days and who knows how many other planets are going to suffer the same fate as earth by the time we get there?"

The computer took this as a question directed at it, so it provided an answer. "APPROXIMATELY NINETEEN OTHER PLANETS."

Ridley growled. "Great, no pressure!" he said sarcastically. He sighed and slunk back into the captain's seat. "Damn it! Now what?" he asked himself.

------------------

Samus was now in the engine room, assessing the damage. It was loud in there, so she was grateful that Ridley had given her the earmuffs. She sighed as she looked over the engines. She hadn't dealt with repairing to much space pirate technology before. Bit it was bad. The hyper drive engine was, just as the computer had said, overheated and out of order. She checked the conventional engines. They were only at half capacity, but were still going strong.

She grew thoughtful for a second before going over the engine controls and pressing a few buttons. "If I'm not mistaken, added power in the engine can be gained by reconnecting the circuit breakers..." She tapped a few keys on the keyboard, trying to reroute the energy output from the circuit breakers.

It worked. The energy started to flow to the engines, quickly increasing their power. It suddenly got even louder in there, so Samus needed to adjust her earmuffs a bit. She smiled as the energy output for the engines now read seventy-five percent.

Satisfied, she went back up to where Ridley was now. "Ridley, I managed to get the engine output up to seventy-five percent."

Ridley smiled up at her. "That's good news... better than what I have."

Samus tilted her head a bit. "What's wrong?"

Ridley sighed. "According to the computer, it's going to take us... two weeks to reach our destination without the hyper drive engine."

Samus paled. "But... the space pirates are still at large, Ridley! Who knows how many planets will be destroyed while we're just trying to get there!"

Ridley pointed to the computer. "According to Mr. Know-it-all here, nineteen."

Samus clenched her fists and punched the side of the ship in anger. "Damn it! What the hell are we gonna do?"

Ridley got up and walked over to her, enveloping her in a hug. "For starters, we need to find a place where we can get more supplies. I only brought enough food and water for three days."

Samus nodded, composing herself. She kissed Ridley on the cheek. "Understood, love. We'd better locate it soon."

Ridley nodded. He took a seat at the wheel again. "Computer, scan area for any planet within a three day range of the ship that can support life and seems to have a large abundance of resources."

The computer whirred again, searching. It beeped triumphantly. "PLANET FOUND. NAME OMOCRON. RICH IN ALL FORMS OF NATURAL RESOURCES. SCANS DETECT NO SIGNS OF INTELLIGENT LIFE ANYWHERE ON THE PLANET."

Ridley nodded. "Distance?" he asked.

"APPROXIMATELY THREE DAYS."

Samus smiled. "Looks like we'll make it." Her expression changed to sadness. "But what about all those other planets?" she asked, sitting next to Ridley.

Ridley sighed. "I know... but we just need to keep moving. The longer we take, the more planets will be destroyed."

Samus nodded. "You're right, Ridley. We can't let all those people's deaths be in vain. We need to avenge them."

Ridley nodded. "Yes... and I need to repent for everything that I've done."

Samus frowned. "Ridley... you don't need to repent. You..." she stopped, unsure of the right phrase to use. She knew that he had done some pretty terrible things, but that was when he was a dragon. The only thing he had really done that was bad when he was in his human form was when he came after her. "Ridley..."

Ridley shook his head. "Please, don't act like I haven't done anything wrong, Samus. Some of the things that I did when I was still a space pirate were just unforgivable and... I need to make up for them, one way or another." A single tear slipped down his face.

Samus reached over and brushed the tear away. "Oh Ridley." she said gently, hugging him close to her.

Ridley smiled a bit, but the computer interjected. "SCANNERS INDICATE EXTREME INCREASE IN BODILY TEMPERATURE."

Ridley blushed lightly and shot the computer a glare, even though it couldn't tell that he was shooting him a glare.

Samus just shook her head. "Ignore him, Ridley." She giggled a bit and kissed him again.

Ridley grinned. "I won't have a very bad problem with that." He kissed her again.

-------------------

The space pirate command laughed loudly as they watched a replay of the second and third planet's explosions. They had originally intended to just make the planets uninhabitable for the local nature, but this was even better!

The pirate's laughter was interrupted by someone knocking at the door. "Enter."

A lone elite pirate came in. "Forgive my interjection, sirs... but we have readouts that show that Samus Aran and Ridley have plotted a course for our homeworld."

The pirate command frowned. Ridley and Samus would definately be a problem if they managed to get to their base. "Set a course for our home world. It will take them a while to get there by conventional space. When they do arrive, we shall deal with them personally."

The pirate saluted and walked off, shivering. Being in the presence of the command was enough to make anyone shiver.

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There's your new chapter folks! Hope you like it! And please heed what I wrote in the beginning in my author's note, I'm trying my best to keep up with you, but it's really hard with everything going on in my life. I barely have free weekends now! Well, that aside, please enjoy my new chapter and tell me what you think!


	11. No intellegent life right

1Yay! A new chapter for you all! Thanks again for the wonderful reviews and encouragement. You all love me! I feel so special. Please, enjoy the newest chapter and tell me what you think!

Chapter 11: No intelligent life... right...

Samus was snoring gently in the extra bed that Ridley had in his ship. It had been the full three days since they had set a course for the planet Omocron. True to what Ridley had said, their food and water rations were running low and they desperately needed to reach the planet soon. She knew that they needed to reach the space pirate's headquarters soon as well. Every once in a while, when Ridley and Samus had looked up at the stars, they saw a large explosion and then nothing. It was either a star going supernova or a planet... but they knew that it was a planet...

She moaned and sat up, clad in only a thin nightshirt. She let the thick blanket fall off of her and stretched gently. Today was they day they were supposed to reach Omocron... hopefully. She got out of bed and walked over to the small pack of luggage she possessed and pulled out some semi-normal clothes, quickly changing into them.

Rubbing her eyes as she walked, she walked into the main control room to see Ridley snoring loudly in the captain's chair, the auto-pilot symbol flashing lightly. She giggled a bit and walked up beside him, wiping a bit of drool off of his chin. She looked out the window and saw the large planet they were approaching... Omocron. She knew that the auto pilot couldn't make a landing on it's own and she wasn't very familiar with this type of ship, so she gently shook Ridley. "Ridley... Ridley, wake up. We're there."

Ridley grunted gently and shook his head. "What? Did I kill it?" he asked, still half-asleep. He looked out the window and his eyes opened wider. "Oh, we're there! Why didn't you just say so?"

Samus pouted. "I did, but you were too busy sleeping on your fat ass to notice!"

Ridley growled, but laughed out loud. "I guess I was just setting myself up for that one, right?"

Samus nodded. "Damn right you were. Now, let's get on that planet, get the supplies and get going again."

Ridley nodded and switched the auto pilot off, taking the manual controls and guiding the ship through the planet's atmosphere. It was completely green with several patches of blue here and there but nothing large enough to be considered a real ocean. In short, it looked like a giant green ball with blue cracks and blotches all over it.

Samus raised an eyebrow. "It looks like it doesn't have that much water on the planet... how can it support so much flora?"

Ridley shrugged. "There are probably a lot of underground rivers running all over the planet. These would provide plenty of water to every point... that would probably explain why even the north and south poles of the planet are covered in green."

The ship made it through the atmosphere in little time, even if the trip was a bit bumpy. Ridley landed the ship down in a clearing near a small lake and surrounded by all manner of shrubbery and trees. "Alright, Samus... let's get what we need and get out of here."

Samus nodded and pressed the hatch open button, heading outside. Ridley quickly followed her and looked around. Samus pressed a few buttons on her arm computer and looked over at the lake. "Scans show that all the water on this planet is pure and fit for consumption." She smiled and grabbed a few large water containers. "I'll get the water while you see what you can find for food."

Ridley nodded. "Alright, I'll be back in a bit." He walked out of the clearing to find some food that was actually edible. That was another downfall to being human, he was now just so picky about what he wanted to eat... but, he knew that it was worth it.

He chuckled lightly and pressed some buttons on his own arm computer. It located several fruit trees nearby, fit for human consumption. He started to walk in that direction, but he stopped when he saw the bushes rustling. He put up his arm cannon, ready to fight if need be. "Who's there?" he asked loudly.

A young woman stepped out into the clearing, clad in a simple outfit made of large fig leaves, staring at Ridley. But something wasn't right about her... that's it, she had a tail! That, and her eyes were golden and she had two cat ears on top of her head. Not to mention that she had some extremely large...

Ridley shook his head and tried to ignore her bust size. He pressed a small button on his visor, scanning this creature. "Hmmm... Kiraku, local resident of Omocron. Normally peaceful, these creatures are willing to help those who need it. They are classified as humanoids, but are very primitive, having an intelligence equal to that of the stone age of mankind. In combat, they usually prefer to use their claws as their main weapon, but they sometimes carry bows, slings, and spears. Their agility and strength makes up for their lack of technology."

The Kiraku tilted her head. She approached Ridley cautiously. Ridley didn't want any trouble, so he lowered his arm cannon and just allowed the creature to come closer. The Kiraku sniffled Ridley when she got close enough then back up and wagged her tail, letting out something that sounded like a giggle. Ridley cleared his throat. "I was wondering if you knew where to get some food?" he asked slowly.

The Kiraku tilted her head again, not understanding what he was asking. Ridley sighed, but then remembered that his translator was off. He mentally slapped himself before turning on his translator. "Do you know where I can find some food?" he asked in their native dialect.

The Kiraku giggled. "Oh, why didn't you just say so?" she asked. It was in her own language, but was translated by Ridley's visor. She motioned for him to follow. "Just come with me. I can get you lots of food!"

She turned and started to walk, waiting for him to follow, her tail swishing behind her. Ridley smiled and was glad that she was friendly. After a few minutes of walking, they came to a clearing that looked strangely like an orchard. "Do you grow your own food here?" Ridley asked.

She shook her head. "No, I just plant any seeds here that happen to come to me." She pointed to several flower bushes and weeds that were growing around as well. "I planted all those too!" she said proudly. "My name is Miknala, but everyone calls me Nala." She turned to him. "What's your name, sir? And where did you get such a shiny body?"

Ridley couldn't help but chuckle. She really was primitive. "This isn't a body, it's a suit. And my name's Ridley."

She smiled and went up to the tree. "That's a nice name." She started picking fruits off of it. "So, who's your mate?" she asked.

Ridley froze a bit at that question. "M-mate? Excuse me?"

Nala giggled again. "I smell a woman's scent all over you. So who is it?"

Ridley smiled a bit. "Her name's Samus Aran."

Nala stopped and dropped a few fruit that she had not set down. "Samus Aran? The universally renowned bounty hunter?" she asked.

Ridley was a little taken aback. Samus' reputation stretched this far? "Yes... you know of her?"

Nala laughed gently. "Know of her? I idolized her! Word of her work and battles has reached this planet quite a few times when I was a cub! Even today, I was really hoping that I would meet her one day. I've dreamed of leaving this planet to be a bounty hunter like her one day!"

Ridley raised an eyebrow. "Really? But you've never had any deep space training, have you?"

Nala held her head high. "I dove in the deepest lakes on the planet and held my breath under there as long as I could to strengthen them to cope with the limited oxygen in space. I also held myself at the deepest pressure points I was able, to learn to handle the pressure of space as well. And training underwater is wonderful for dealing with low-gravity situations as well."

Ridley nodded, rather impressed with her. "Wow, and my computer said that there was no intelligent life on the planet... alright then, can you fight?"

Nala grinned and picked up a long branch that was sharpened at one end. Taking careful aim, she threw it with deadly accuracy, hitting a boulder dead center. What surprised Ridley was the fact that the branch was now enlodged in the stone! He couldn't suppress a gasp. "Wow... strong woman with good aim... but can you fight with anything else."

Nala nodded eagerly. "While it is true that we don't have anything like your arm cannons on this planet, I've made makeshift slingshots made to mimic the basic build of your cannons. I can use them very accurately. I am also an accomplished martial artist in the style of Karat-su-fu. That's the combination of Karate, Kung Fu, and Ju-gistu."

Ridley smirked. He had an idea boiling in his head. This woman, this Kiraku, she seemed very accomplished in most fields that would come in handy in Samus and his raid of the space pirate's lair. "Tell you what, come with me. I'll introduce you to my mate... the real Samus Aran. And if it's alright with her, you can come with us."

Nala squealed loudly. "Oh thank you!" she shouted, hopping up and down excitedly. "I can't thank you enough!"

Ridley chuckled a bit. "Just help me carry the food back to the ship and We'll talk to Samus.

Nala nodded eagerly and gathered up as much food as she could carry. "Okay! Let's go!"

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Samus had finally managed to get all the water containers full and back on the ship. Now, all she needed was for Ridley to return with the food and they'd be on their way. She looked over as the foliage started to rustle and smiled as Ridley came out, but she tilted her head when a young woman with a tail and cat ears walked out with him.

She quickly walked up, her translator on. "Hi Ridley. Who's this?" she asked, motioning to the woman behind him who was carrying a large amount of food.

Before Ridley could answer, Nala set down the food and came closer to Samus. "Are you really Samus Aran, the bounty hunter?"

Samus was rather shocked that she was known even on these remote planets. "Well, yes, I am. Who are you." she asked, extending her hand to the young woman.

Nala smiled and shook it readily, smiling. "My name is Nala and I've always wanted to meet you ever since I was a cub! I've trained my whole life to become a bounty hunter like you! Will you take me with you and your mate here?"

Samus blushed a bit at the mention of Ridley being her mate, but she guessed that it would be correct terminology for their relationship. "Well... I don't know..."

Ridley stepped forward. "She really has been training, Samus. She impaled a boulder with a tree branch and she's even trained herself in a similar manner to what most young space travelers go through when they are preparing to launch into space... plus, she's also one damn good shot with any range weapon."

Samus sighed a bit, but smiled. She trusted Ridley with her life now and if he trusted this Nala woman, then she wouldn't have any choice but to accept. She grinned a bit. "Fine, you can come with us. Who knows, if you do good, we might even let you stay with us after this mission."

Once again, Nala squealed. "Thank you!" she shouted, hugging Samus gently. She broke the hug just as quickly and gathered up the food. "I'll go and put this in the ship so we can get going." She ran off towards the ship, her smile wide.

Samus chuckled a bit. "An eager one, isn't she?"

Ridley shrugged. "Well, she's idolized you for a while now, and now she's learning from the best, I'm no surprised that she's acting this way."

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All the food and water was now loaded in the ship and they were set for takeoff. Nala was bouncing in her seat as the ship started to lift off the ground. "Wow, this is even better than I ever dreamed it would be!" Her eyes darted around longingly. "So, where are we going?"

Samus couldn't help but smile at Nala's enthusiasm. She still had her translator on, which would now probably be a necessity until they found a better way to communicate with the Kiraku. "We're going to the home planet of the space pirates to shut them down once and for all."

Nala became docile for a second. "What did they do this time? I've only heard of them, they've never come to Omocron before.

Ridley growled a bit. "They've found a way to destroy planets by using metroids."

Nala paled. She knew that the technology was rapidly growing on other planets, but the power to destroy a planet? "That can't be true! There's no force in the world that can destroy a planet!"

Samus sighed. "There is... and I've seen plenty besides what the space pirates have now... back on Tallon IV, there was a large creature named Metroid prime that produced a kind of radiation called Phazon. Although the destruction wasn't as direct as an explosion, like what happens with the pirate's weapons, it was slowly eating away at the planet, destroying it from the inside out, poisoning the resources around the entire planet."

Nala paled and was about to ask another question when a loud explosion rocked the entire ship. Samus and Ridley gasped a bit. "Oh no! Don't tell me..."

Nala looked out the window at where her planet used to be and her eyes widened as she saw nothing but a bunch of meteors. "NO! You've got to be shitting me! God please tell me that this is a nightmare!" She dropped to her knees, still staring at the chunks of rock that were drifting further and further apart. Tears streamed down her face, blurring her vision. "My home... all the animals... my friends... I didn't even think to say goodbye..."

Ridley gulped. "I'm afraid that you don't have time to grieve right now..."

Samus shot him a glare. "She just lost her home, Ridley. Why can't she grieve?"

Ridley pointed out the front window. "Because we are now caught in a space pirate tractor beam and we are being pulled towards a space pirate frigate."

Samus' eyes widened and she stood up, helping Nala to control her tears. Nala finally gained control of her grief, and it was now replaced by burning rage. "Damn them all! I'll kill every last one of them!" she shouted.

Samus quickly sat back down. "I don't know about all of them, but you're sure going to get your chance to try and kill some of them now!" She cocked her arm cannon and Ridley did the same. He reached into a small compartment on the side of the ship and drew out a large power suit. "This was a reserve suit in case something happened to mine. It isn't as powerful as mine or Samus' but I think that it will be well suited for you."

Nala gave him a smiled and quickly grabbed the suit, running into the room to change. Ridley looked at Samus. Do we fight or surrender?" he asked.

Samus raised her arm cannon. "We fight... what makes you think that they would show any mercy to us if we surrendered?"

Ridley chuckled. "No, I guess not." They both ran back into the room where Nala had managed to get the suit on. All three of them nodded to each other. Together, they walked back to the cockpit and waited for the inevitable boarding of their ship.

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Dun, Dun, Dun! A cliffhanger! Whee! Deal with it, lol! Just review it! I'll get the next chapter out soon, I promise. And this fic is approaching it's inevitable end, maybe a few more chapters... and THEN! I shall cast aside this cloak of hiding and update my other fics so you guys can quit nagging me about it!


	12. captured, but still capable

1Alright, new chapter time once again. I bring good tidings from my snowed in little house, lol. No new conflicts have arrived thus far in my life, so I might be updating a bit more often then usual. Now, just wanted to let you know that before we get on with the fic!

Chapter 12: Captured, but still capable

Samus, Ridley, and Nala all stood near the doorway of the ship as the tractor beam brought them closer towards the pirate frigate. Nala was in the backup suit that Ridley had provided and she was delighted to find that it fit her very snugly.

Ridley clenched his fist gently as they neared the opening on the ship. The huge frigate seemed to swallow his tiny ship as they were drawn into the docking bay. Samus looked out the window and gasped. She had seen a lot of pirates in her day, but she had never seen so many in one place before. Possibly over a thousand of them, all standing in organized rows, their rifles raised. A few of the more commanding officers were shouting something at them and pointing to the ship. She had a pretty good idea what he was talking about. "Ridley, You know that there is no way we can win against all those pirates, right?"

Ridley nodded. "I'm well aware of that, but I'll be damned if I go down without a fight. And who knows, we may just take some of them with us."

Nala nodded, her hand on her arm cannon. "What do you think they'll do to us?" she asked, a little curious about how they would kill them.

Ridley sighed. "Well, it depends. Since Samus and I have such an infamous reputation among them now, they'll probably just kill us outright. But as for you, they may take you in for questioning and torture, but they may kill you here too... and if they decide to keep us alive, we'll wish that we'd been dead."

Nala sighed. "How very pleasant." The sarcasm in her voice was practically dripping from her lips.

Samus looked out the Window again. "Get ready, here they come!"

It was true, several of the pirates had now approached the main hatch to the ship and were starting to pry it open. Samus, Ridley, and Nala aimed their arm cannons at the doorway and crouched down, hoping to avoid the main onslaught of the laser rifles.

A distinct hissing sound was heard and the edges of the door began to smoke. Finally, it was torn right off it's hinges and several of the space pirates stormed in, firing everywhere in random direction. Samus and Ridley rolled out of the way to avoid some fire coming their way, but Nala stayed where she was, opening fire with everything that she had. Several pirates fell from her attacks right away.

Samus and Ridley quickly joined in, firing at them all. Nala had chosen the power beam, mimicking the pirate's spread fire idea. Samus had chosen to try and keep them at bay with the freeze beam, trying her best to keep them incased in ice so that Nala and Ridley would have an easier time picking them off. Ridley was firing as fast as he could with the plasma beam, trying to incinerate them before they could get very far. It was hard since he had little time to aim and he couldn't fire the plasma beam very rapidly, leaving the field open for the pirates to counter.

This continued for nearly thirty minutes, the pirate body count rising in front of the doorway. Miraculously, Nala, who was pretty much out in the open and exposed to the rifles, had not taken any damage whatsoever. It had come close several times, but she made the very slightest changes in her positions, shifting a leg here, tilting her head there. These small movements seemed to save her from what others would call an unavoidable termination.

Samus was about to fire off a missile to try and collapse the front of the ship to buy them some time, but she heard a small click behind her. The pirates stopped firing and she turned around, only to be looking straight down a rifle barrel. A pirate stood behind the laser rifle, grinning down at her triumphantly. "Raise your hands above your head, hunter."

Samus looked over to find that Ridley and Nala were now in a similar position. Both of them had guns pointed at that heads, both of them were forced to put their hands in the air. Samus did the same. Ridley growled. "How the hell did you guys get in here? That part of the ship right there is the only way in or out."

The pirate grinned. "We made a back door." He moved slightly so Ridley could see that they had completely melted away one of the side walls to make a second entrance for themselves.

With that said, the pirates swarmed them and grabbed them, forcing them to their feet and roughly pushing them towards the entrance. Several pirates let out shouts of joy to find the all powerful hunter now at their mercy.

They were continually pushed through the crowd towards the holding cells. Finally, all three of them were thrown into a cell together. The pirate chuckled as he locked the gate. "You wanted to come to our home world... now you have your wish. We have just told the high command of your capture and it seems that they would like to see you excecuted personally."

Nala growled and reached through the bars at the pirate, grabbing his neck and ramming his head against the bars repeatedly. "You bastards destroyed my home!" she shouted furiously. She only ceased her onslaught on the pirate when Ridley and Samus dragged her away from the bars.

The pirate grunted. "That bitch his some spunk." He snorted and picked up the large crate where the prisoner's arm cannons had been placed, walking off.

Nala growled and sat back down. She was glad that they had neglected to take away the rest of their suits, just the parts that were most troublesome. That included their grapple beams, the arm cannons, and the morph ball. They had at least left them the translators. "So, now what?"

Ridley shrugged and sat against the wall. "Let's see, we're completely defenseless onboard an enemy frigate, heading for their home planet where we shall suffer a gruesome death. I'd say that our chances of doing anything are pretty slim."

Samus looked up at Ridley. "Don't tell me you're giving up! Ridley, this is not to time to accept defeat." She was also trying to convince herself of this, she herself seeing the hopelessness of the situation. "Look, with the warp engines on this thing, how long will it take them to get back to the pirate's home world?"

Ridley thought about it for a second. "About... ten hours, give or take."

Nala nodded. "Alright, we have ten hours... anyone have any ideas?"

A three of them remained silent for a long time, none of them knowing what to do. Samus had never been captured before so she really didn't have a good idea of what to do in this situation. Ridley and Nala were the same."

Then, a voice... a voice speaking English, even though it was with a rough accent... was coming towards them. It sounded like the person talking was trying to complain about something. As the voice came closer and the sounds of their footsteps became louder against the metal floor of the frigate, a few of the words became understandable. "I insist that you let me go this instant! I have done nothing wrong and you know that, I was simply curious as to why it was so cold on my floor. It's not my fault all those metroids got loose! If you're going to blame anyone, you should blame the idiot who left the door unlocked!"

The door to their cell swung open and a pirate was pushed roughly into cell. Once again, the cell was shut and locked tightly. The pirate who had been thrown into the cell with Samus, Ridley, and Nala quickly climbed to his feet and started pounding on the door. "I demand the right to speak with the captain of this vessel! When I was thrust into this mission, I was promised full protection and trust by my fellow comrades! This is hardly what I would call trust!"

Samus eyed the creature cautiously. The pirate had been stripped of his weapons, but pirates were still deadly in hand to hand combat. Still, she didn't think that one pirate, and such a young looking one at that, would stand a chance against all three of them. She cleared her throat, hoping to get the pirate's attention.

The pirate stopped his excessive banging and turned to see Samus, Ridley, and Nala there. "Oh, I beg your pardon. I was not informed that I would be sharing a cell with other captives."

Nala growled a warning, but Ridley put a hand on her shoulder. That seemed to calm her down a bit and she backed off. Ridley removed his translator helmet to see if it was truly English that this pirate was talking in. "Are you... speaking English?" he asked.

The pirate chuckled. "Oh, why I believe so... yes."

Samus relaxed a bit. This pirate didn't seem at all the fighting type. He actually seemed quite docile. "How did you learn English? I mean, it isn't very common for a space pirate to know a foreign language."

The pirate smiled a bit. "Well, you see, I was a rather odd pirate from my birth. I didn't really enjoy the idea of partaking in life or death battles with my other comrades, you see. Instead, I took a position as a researcher in the pirate labs. As such, I began to research several different components of other creatures. I eventually started to study the human language you call English. I learned quickly. Other pirates tend to avoid me for my 'faults' as they call them. They say that I'm too sympathetic."

Samus removed her helmet and rested her chin in her hand. "I've never really heard of a space pirate like you. It sounds like you aren't very proud to be one."

The pirate shook his head. "Oh no, I find it rather appalling. The problem is, I cannot leave since I would be charged with cowardice and desertion." He stopped and looked over Ridley and Samus for a second. "Pardon me, but aren't you... Samus Aran, the hunter that all these pirates keep talking about?"

Samus nodded and tensed up a bit, ready to fight. Any pirate who knew who she was usually ended up fighting her. "I am her."

The pirate laughed a bit. "Fancy that... I've always been very fascinated with the stories I've heard of you from the pirates who survive their battles with you. You've done quite a job in shaking us up in the past, I really must applaud such skill."

Samus raised a brow. "So... you hold no grudges against me?"

The pirate shook his head. "Not at all... what have you ever done to me? The other pirates were the ones who attacked you and they should have known better than to take on a warrior of your calabur." He turned to Ridley. "And you must the commanding officer of the forces who tried to take over Tallon IV, Ridley the former dragon, right?"

Ridley nodded as Samus had done. However, he had a feeling that this pirate, however abstract he was from his brethren, was trustworthy. "I am. Former would be putting it mildly. I'm human now, as you can tell."

The pirate nodded. "Yes... you know, if we had met sooner, I probably would have divulged the high command's plot to kill you after you had killed Samus. They had informed every pirate on the home world and the patrolling ships about this."

Ridley sighed. "I figured that out eventually."

Finally, the pirate turned to Nala. "And who might you be, miss?"

Nala hissed and raised her fists. "Come near me and I break you in half!" she threatened.

The pirate took a step backward. "Oh my... quite a violent one..."

Samus nodded. "She isn't usually like this, but she's not very trusting of pirates. You see her home world was just destroyed by this... Metroid core operation that's been going on."

The pirate nodded. "Yes, I see... well, to be honest, I never really saw it as a good idea myself. What's the sense in conquering the universe in this manner if there isn't anything left to conquer? And I've been trying to sabotage the whole thing for a long time."

Ridley chuckled. "So you really were the one who let the metroids go?" he asked.

The pirate nodded again. "Yes. I cannot sit by and watch innocent people be killed like this. I didn't mind so much when we invaded places looking for resources, that was for our own survival, but this is nothing but a senseless slaughter. I won't stand for it."

Samus pointed to him. "You... are a lot different than space pirates... We were on our way to their home world to try and stop them from continuing this operation as well... I think that it would benefit us if we were to join forces for now."

Nala's eyes opened wide. "Samus, what the hell are you saying? He's a pirate! He's one of them! And besides, what can he do for us when we're stuck in this cell?"

The pirate nodded. "I can understand why you are so skeptical, m'lady. Allow me to demonstrate." He walked up to the wall and gently tapped it with his claw. "The thing about these pirate frigates, all of them were constructed with thin cells. We didn't think that we needed to make them very thick since all prisoners were stripped of weaponry." He grinned and hooked a claw through a loose plate of metal and it slid out, revealing a tunnel similar to a ventilation shaft. "Behind the cells lies a maze of shafts that lead all over the ship. They were once used for gassing prisoners, but we found too dangerous when allergic reactions to the prisoners and our own men started to become a bit serious. These vents have long since been forgotten."

Ridley grinned. "I never knew that... then again, I must have joined after they stopped using gas."

Samus smiled. "Well... I guess that settles it. We're all a team now." She stretched out her hand. "Oh, I don't think that you mentioned your name yet either."

The pirate took her hand and shook it lightly. "The pirates all call me Phaze."

Samus nodded and walked to the vent. "Well then, Phaze, let's get going... you'll have to lead the way since you probably know your way around the ship better than we do."

Phaze smiled and walked to the vent. "By the way, don't mind the smell in here... it's been a few years since the cleaning drones have been through here." He chuckled and crawled into the vent, Samus quickly following.

Ridley was about to climb in when he noticed that Nala was just sitting there, pouting. "Nala? What's wrong? We've gotta get going."

Nala looked at him. "I won't go anywhere with that pirate leading us. I don't trust him, Ridley... he's just going to get us killed."

Ridley sighed. "Fine, stay here and let the high command dissect you then. But sometimes, Nala, you'll have to trust an enemy, if you want to make a friend. Samus taught me that." He climbed into the vent.

Nala stared a the vent for a long time before sighing and crawling into it. "I just know that we're headed straight for the grave by doing this... but I guess it's better than being taken apart piece by piece..."

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Whee! There, another chapter, ready for reviews. This one took me a while and my hand is now cramping, so I'll just end it with R/R ppl!


	13. Into the dragon's eyes

1New chapter! Yahoo! It is wonderful, is it not? I am pleased to hear that people like Nala so much. But, I have heard very little reaction as to what people thing of Phaze, the pirate joining them. Anyway, I am glad that you are all enjoying this and I shall continue to write as we are nearing the end of this epic adventure, which has a good promise for a sequel with all the positive reinforcement it has achieved from you all. I thank you. Domo Arigato.

Chapter 13: Eyes of the dragons

Phaze led Samus, Ridley and the reluctant Nala through some very complicated vent systems, looking back every so often to make sure he hadn't lost them.

After a while, Samus finally spoke up, but she kept her voice low, knowing that sound could probably travel very easily in the shafts. "Where exactly are you leading us, Phaze?" she asked.

Phaze looked back and smiled. "I'm leading you towards the storage cells where all the confiscated weapons and items that we acquire are held. I'm pretty sure that your arm cannons will be there, as will my laser rifle and my melee blade."

Nala raised her eyebrows a bit as she listened. She couldn't see Phaze at all being positioned behind Ridley, who was behind Samus and Phaze, but she was sure that he could hear her just as well. "Pretty sure? What's that supposed to mean?" she asked curiously. "You aren't one-hundred percent sure that our weapons will be there?"

Phaze shook his head. "I am sorry, but I can't be sure that they would take it straight to the storage facilities. They sometimes bring foreign objects to the scientific facilities to experiment on them and try to learn the secrets of other civilizations that use the technology and harness it for their own use."

Nala growled. "Oh, that makes me feel so much better." The sarcasm was all to evident in her tone.

Ridley looked back at her. "Oh quit it, Nala. Your sarcasm is not really helping the situation very much."

Nala snorted, glaring daggers at Ridley... or the side of him she could clearly see. Ridley grinned a bit. "Besides, the view isn't all that bad." He chuckled gently, his eyes fixated on Samus' ass.

Samus couldn't help but giggle, even if the joke was directed at her. "Bad boy, I'm gonna get you back for this."

Ridley grinned. "I look forward to it."

Nala growled. "Could you two please stop with the innuendo? We have a life or death situation on our hands right now! Geeze, I would have thought that Samus would have been more serious than this."

Samus smiled a bit. "I was, actually... that was before Ridley became a human."

Phaze chuckled a bit. "As interesting as this conversation is, we are now over the containment cells. I believe our weapons are in there somewhere." He gently lifted the vent up and placed it to the side, sliding down into the dark containment cell. "Come on... and be swift, I'm not sure how long it will take before all the pirates realize that you are missing."

Samus quickly followed him, Ridley and Nala right behind her. They all started rummaging through the various crates and containers, looking for their specific weapons. Ridley was the one to find them. "Hey, they're over here." He quickly slipped his arm cannon over his free hand, grinning. He was glad to have his trigger hand satisfied once again.

Nala and Samus slipped on their own arm cannons, also glad to be armed. Phaze had managed to come across his own personal weapon, a standard space pirate silent laser rifle with optional semi-automatic and automatic settings, and a long, standard, sharp pirate switch blade, specialized for melee combat, even upgraded to have a plasma coating over it. If anyone got cut with it, they were guaranteed a large burning sensation as well.

Samus nodded in satisfaction. The group was once again effectively armed. "Alright, now what?"

Phaz grinned a bit. "This ship is set on an auto pilot. It is set to return to our world no matter what, not even a jail break discovery will make it slow. Which means, as long as we lay low, we have a free trip to the pirate headquarters."

Ridley nodded. "Phaze, we really appreciate your help. It's lucky for us you happened to defect when you did, right?"

Paze chuckled and nodded. "That's true I guess. Now, come on. We can't stay in one place too long. Doing so will result in our discovery." He ran back over to the vent and jumped in, turning and motioning for them to follow. "Come on, there are a few poorly patrolled places on the ship that we can use to lay low for a while."

Samus and Ridley nodded, following the pirate without hesitation, but once again, Nala hung back a bit. "Damn... why do I have to be so suspicious?" she asked herself as she slipped into the vent after them.

Once again, Phaze led them through some complex vent systems until they were above a freezing room. "I trust that your suits all have temperature control systems as well?" he asked, opening the grating. All three of them nodded.

Samus tilted her head as they entered the room. "Phaze... what is this room used for?"

Phaze shrugged. "This is an unoccupied Metroid storage facility. It was recently emptied when the inabitants seemed to develop... tumors of some kind due to prolonged Phazon experimentation."

Nala nodded a bit and looked around the room. "Alright, I guess we could stay here... but what if they decide to dump some more Metroids in here?" she asked skeptically."

Phaze shrugged. "There is a very slim chance that will happen. By my calculations, we should arrive at the pirate headquarters in about another eight hours while in hyperspace and as long as another storage facility doesn't break down, we shouldn't have to worry about unwanted company."

Ridley sat down in the frost and Samus joined him, leaning against him. "I guess... there's nothing left to do but wait."

Ridley nodded and was about to respond when warning sirens sounded all across the ship. A computerized voice came on the speakers. "ATTENTION ALL PERSONNEL: SPACE PIRATE ENEMIES RIDLEY AND SAMUS ARAN, A.K.A. THE HUNTER HAVE ESCAPED CAPTIVITY! THEY ARE ALSO IN THE COMPANY OF AN ALIEN CREATURE AND A REBEL PIRATE. DOUBLE RATIONS TO ANY PIRATE WHO BRINGS THEM IN, ALIVE OR DEAD!"

Phaze smiled slightly. "Well, that was sooner than expected. But they won't check this room... that I'm certain of. Guards are positioned on both sides of the hall leading to the storage facilities. So it would be impossible for us to reach here without killing someone or without being seen."

Nala raised an eyebrow at him. "The way that you talk about this whole business, it sounds like you've done it before."

Phaze chuckled again. "I never said that I hadn't. But then again, I never said that I had."

Nala sighed slightly. "You are hopeless..." she informed him, sitting down next to the wall while Phaze took a seat in the corner.

------------------

It was eight hours later, eight hours of pure boredom later and the four of them were now back in the vents, waiting for their moment to strike. Phaze lead them towards the end of the ship, near the exits. There, they waited patiently for all the heat to die down over their escape so that they could get off the ship and destroy what should have never been created.

------------------

The council, still shrouded in shadows, waited for news of Samus and Ridley's capture. Finally, a pirate from the ship entered their chamber. He saluted respectfully. "Welcome soldier. What is the word on Samus and Ridley?"

The pirate gulped. "Well, sirs... it appears that, well... they... they..."

The council growled. "They WHAT?"

The pirate flung up it's arms and said quickly, "They escaped!"

The council flew into a rage. "THEY WHAT!?!?!?!"

The pirate winced and took a step back. "It wasn't only their doing, sir. A rouge pirate has apparently made a pact with them and he was resourceful enough to lead them away from our sensors."

The council turned eerily calm. "Tell me, my friend... say you were the commander here and a pirate came in and told you that he had made a very big mistake... what would you do?"

The pirate gulped again. "I would... give him a second chance, sir."

The council chuckled, and for the first time in a while, lumbered out of the shadows from which they had been staying. The pirate, momentarily forgetting his fear was now faced with five dragons, each a different color. They were much like Ridley had been in his dragon body, but nearly three times as large as he had been, all of them a dirty golden color, their mouths filled to the tip with razor sharp teeth. Flame seemed to seep out of them. "Yes, that is what you would do... but we are not you, are we?" they asked.

The pirate never had a chance to respond before the foremost dragon swooped down with one swift snap and grabbed the pirate in it's massive jaws. A hideous crunching noise was heard as the dragon made sure to chew his meal thoroughly before swallowing. They then resigned themselves to the shadows once again, their eyes glowing an eerie red. "Come Samus, Ridley... your death awaits you here, now... you shall die, as shall your precious hope and belief."

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THERE! There's your new chapter, nothing flashy, but I was tired... oh so tired... it is now three in the morning here, so you are damn lucky I am up this late to perfect this chapter! Anyways, tell me what you think and the next chapter... will be up soon. (Passes out from exhaustion.)


	14. It all ends here

1Whee! I bring to you the insanity that is my next chapter! What will happen in the final battle between Samus Aran, her odd array of allies and the space pirates? Not even I know, which is probably why I'm writing it right now... to find out for myself. As this fic is nearing it's end, You can also expect updates coming up on all of my other, neglected fics. If you are a fan of my other stories and have been waiting patiently for my updates, I thank you for your patience and I apologize for not updating them earlier. But it has been hard to keep up with my duties in the real world as of late, but since things have begun to quiet down and I have now had time to calm my poor brain down, I am ready, willing, and able to complete that which should have been finished so long ago. Once again, many thank-you's and apologies.

Chapter 14: It all ends here

Samus was still a bit cramped as they moved about in the vents near the exit to the ship. A few guards were stationed at the entrances, probably to keep them from escaping. She grinned wily, the two weren't even paying attention anymore... merely making light conversation and that was it.

Ridley looked down on them grinning as well. "When do we make our move, Phaze?" he asked eagerly.

Phaze motioned for them to stay silent. "We move out soon... it always takes them a few minutes to switch bodies during guard shifts. And people here aren't very happy with just standing in front of something, it's boring. They'll take their own sweet time getting here..."

Nala sighed. "And exactly how long do we have to wait in this damn vent for the shift time?" she asked in an irritable voice. No one could find a comfortable position in these vents, they were just small enough for them to curl up comfortably and that was it.

Phaze sighed gently. "Be patient, please. It will be another... five minutes before shift changes."

They all nodded and waited. After five minutes, true to what Phaze had said, the two guards shrugged and walked off, the replacement shift not there yet. Shift grinned a bit and lifted the grating for the vent out of the way and dropped down, pointing his laser rifle in all directions to make sure that the coast was clear. "Alright, all quiet down here, come on!"

Samus, Ridley, and Nala all dropped down and mimicked his motion with their arm cannons. Samus nodded. "Alright, where are we right now?" she asked.

Phazed walked over to one of the computer consoles outside the ship. He didn't have to be very cautious, the place was deserted right at the moment. He tapped the keys gently. "Let's see... according to this, we are on the very surface of the hideout, docking bay A-28, ship cell number 17. The very core of the base, and also where the council is, is way down at the center, nearly thirty levels below us."

Ridley cocked his arm cannon. "Wonderful, thirty levels of metroids, pirates, Phazon, and god knows what else between us and them..."

Samus nodded. "Well, look on the bright side, Ridley. This will give you an opportunity to improve that shaky aim of yours." She giggled slightly and even Phaze and Nala let out a few chuckles.

Ridley snorted at her. "My aim is not that bad, Samus."

Samus shook her head. "Oh no, of course not... at point blank range of course."

Phaze cleared his throat. "I am sorry to interrupt, but we do have a limited amount of time to get from here," he pointed to the spot on the map where they were currently situated, "to there." He pointed to the very center of the base, several level's below them."

Samus and Ridley nodded, and opened the door, being sure to check for any pirates that might have been coming. "All clear, let's move out!"

Nala and Phaze stared at each other for a while before walking towards the door. Nala growled a bit. "Keep in mind, Phaze, I don't trust you one bit. As far as I'm concerned, you are still one of them."

Phaze frowned, but nodded. "Everyone is entitled to their opinion I guess. Just know that you not trusting me means that I bear no ill will towards you." He walked through the doorway.

Nala growled as she followed him. "Oh, I'm sure you don't..." she seethed to herself so he couldn't hear.

------------------

The high command, the dragons were now sitting in the core of the base, waiting patiently. A large aqua one turned to the golden one. "They shall be here soon. Our forces will be no match for four of them."

The gold one chuckled. "I would expect nothing less from the hunter and Ridley... those other two are of little concern right now."

A larger red dragon snorted a bit. "Don't get so cocky. Every single one of them is a threat and you know it. That renegade pirate can supply them with information of this entire base, maybe even about us."

The gold one chuckled again. "You worry to much. There is nothing to be worried about. Even if they do make it here to the core, there is no way that they can beat all five of us."

A younger dragon, green in color nodded in agreement. "He is right, you know. There are five of us and four of them and five of us, right? Also, we have the advantage of advanced strength and speed on our side. They do not stand a chance against us.

The last dragon, yellow in color, reared back gently. "As an added bonus, unless they can truly harness their own abilities to the fullest, I doubt that they will be able to get all the way here without receiving at least some damage."

The gold one nodded. "All the more fun for us to kill slowly."

All five of them laughed as red lights started flashing and the computer buzzed out a warning to the entire base. "WARNING! WARNING! THE HUNTER AND THREE OF HER ACCOMPLICES, INCLUDING A RENEGADE PIRATE AND FORMER COMMANDING OFFICER RIDLEY, HAVE INVADED! DESTROY AT ALL COSTS!"

---------------------

Ridley fired a carefully aimed shot at the alarms around him, growling. "That was getting damn annoying." He grunted and ducked behind a few monitors as several pirates started firing at them.

Phaze chanced a look over his own hiding place and mentally calculated that there had to be at least fifteen pirates in their way. They were currently lined up two by two in nice little rows in the narrow hallway. "Now would be our best time to strike, before they decide to enter the actual room and spread out."

Samus growled and jumped out of her hiding place just long enough to fire a missile before ducking back behind the monitors. The missile impacted one of the pirates and sent him flying back into the others. "That ought to buy us some time..." she commented.

Ridley grinned a bit and looked up at the pirates who were momentarily trying to reorganize themselves after what happened. He aimed and fired off a stead stream of Plasma beam blasts, frying several of the closest pirates.

Nala growled and let out a large flurry of power beam attacks at them, giving them no time to recover as it was almost like a machine gun was going off. Finally, the last pirate in the room fell, with a small grunt, leaving the elevator open for them.

As they entered it, Phaze grunted in disgust. "Damn, they've frozen the controls for the elevator. I've managed to hack it, but it'll only get us to the twenty-eighth level before it'll be forced into automatic shutdown."

Nala growled a bit. "Then just take us there! Twenty-eighth doesn't sound to bad to me."

Phaze sighed. "Level twenty-eight is the Metroid and Phazon containment center. Below that lies the experimentation level, and then finally, the main control level, the one we want to get to."

Samus nodded. "Get us down there, Phaze. We'll just have to fight our way through all those freaks."

Phaze nodded and punched in a series of complicated commands and the elevator gave a lazy lurch before coming to life and moving downward. All four of them tensed up as they finally reached level twenty-eight. "METROID CONTAINMENT CENTER AHEAD. HAVE A NICE DAY!"

The doors gave a loud hiss as they flew open. There wasn't a single pirate in the room, but there were plenty of windows. All of them peering into arctic like regions where several metroids lay, all of them seeming to be extremely lacking energy and docile. But there was one and only one Metroid who was still fighting. It was throwing itself furiously against the reinforced glass, seeking it's freedom.

Nala watched this creature carefully as Ridley smirked and walked up to a computer in the center of the room.

Samus looked at him quizzically. "What are you doing, Ridley?" she asked.

Ridley chuckled and tapped a few keys. "Making sure that these things aren't used as tools of destruction ever again." He tapped another few keys and the arctic rooms in which the metroids were being held started to make whirring noises. Then, the metrolds started to turn blue. Ridley smirked. "I jammed the temperature controls. They can't stop it and every metroid in these rooms are going to ice over and freeze to death."

Nala hadn't really heard him. Her eyes were fixated on that one metroid, the only one who was trying to fight for it's freedom. Even as the metroids around it frosted over and died, it kept fighting, even as it started to turn blue and frost started to form along its mandibles.

Nala couldn't take it, this was life they were destroying, this creature that longed for freedom, that such strength to fight for it, it didn't deserve to die. Jumping back, she fired a missile at the glass, shattering it.

Samus' eyes opened wide in response. "Nala, what the hell are you doing?" she half asked, half shouted. "Damn it, if any of those things get loose, we're screwed!"

Nala didn't listen as she rushed to the side of the glass, the one remaining metroid, the one she had watched, gently floating through the break and settling on the ground, it's membrane still an icy blue and the frost still evident on its mandibles. Nala sat down next to it and gently lifted it into her arms. The metroid made no move to harm her, in fact, it seemed to try and cuddle closer to her, her suit giving off a bit of warm that the metroid so desperately needed right now.

Ridley growled a bit. "Damn it, Nala, that isn't a pet, it's a METROID! They are the same things that the space pirates have been using for the longest time as weapons!"

Nala let out a hiss at him, causing him to take a few cautious steps back. She kept the metroid in her arms protectively, like a mother nursing a child. "Ridley, he had such fire... he was willing to sacrifice everything for it's freedom. I couldn't let such a creature with such passion for life die. And they are not weapons. They are creatures who deserve just as much respect as we do."

Phaze tilted his head at her. "I guess that space pirates aren't included in that saying, are we?" he asked. He didn't sound mean or spiteful about it, simply matter-of-fact."

Nala looked up at him and seemed ready to say something in response, but no words came out.

Phaze sighed a bit. "I don't mind if you bring the little fellow along, but do hurry, time is of the essence here. The pirates are either evacuating or having a hard time catching up to us now that the elevator is unoperational."

Nala nodded stiffly and followed the other three as they started off, still holding the metroid. What Phaze had said, even if he hadn't meant it to hurt her, had. She now felt horrible about the way she had so wrongly judged Phaze when he had first been pushed into their cell. She couldn't say she was sorry enough times to make up for this... that she knew."

---------------------

Level twenty-nine, just like the metroid containment center, seemed abandoned. Well, not really. There was lots of moaning and screaming going on as several animals, all from different worlds suffered from the experiments performed on them by the pirates with phazon.

It made Samus sick to see so many creatures suffering like this... all the more reason to stop the pirates. As much as she wanted to let the creatures free, she knew that it would have been in vain. Phazon, even if it did successfully increase the users abilities, drastically shortened the life span of the creature in question. It was also clear to her that several of the animals might have come down with phazon madness as well, the way that they seemed calm one minute and ravenous the next.

As they approached the elevator to the final floor, there was an unpleasant click behind them. The all turned to see a single space pirate pointing his rifle at them... but this rifle had been modified with phazon technology, making it extremely dangerous. "None of you move or I send you all straight to hell where you belong.

In alarm, the metrold in Nala's arms jumped from her and landed on the pirate's face. He began to feed on the pirate's life energy, the pirate falling backwards and howling for someone to help him. No one did however. Finally, after what seemed like centuries, the pirate stopped his struggle and lay there, lifeless on the ground. The metroid had seemed to get a bit bigger, but it was barely noticeable. It let out some happy whistling and chirping sounds and floated into the air, its natural red color returning.

No one dared to move as the metroid floated back into Nala's arms, gentle as a kitten. Nala smiled a bit. "Did you have a good meal?" she asked it. The metroid purred a bit and snuggled up against her again. Nala giggled. "I'll call you... chirps."

Ridley raised an eyebrow. "Why Chirps?"

Nala frowned. "Because I like that name, so deal with it."

Samus giggled a bit. "Ironic, isn't it? The military government has tried for nearly ten years to tame metroids without success and then a woman from an under-developed planet comes along and tames one in exactly ten minutes."

Nala smiled. "What can I say? I have a... knack for animals."

Phaze pried open the door to the last level. "I am sorry to intrude, but we must be moving along. By the way, Nala, I think that Chirps is a fine name." The metroid seemed to bubble in agreement as they headed towards the final door.

Everyone tensed up again, weapons ready. Even Chirps, who had been so relaxed in Nala's arms up until now, sensed something was going to happen and raised out of her arms, ready to attack anything that it or Nala branded fit.

Ridley cocked his arm cannon. "Finally... it all ends now..." He leaned back and punched the door with all his might. It swung open easily.

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Uh-oh! Big cliffy! Hah, deal with it, suckers! Insert raspberry here Lol, seriously, the next chapter will be up as soon as I can get to it, which should now be very soon... it also depends on the fact that I might not be awake for very long... so sleepy... so sleep... bed good... bed... goo... zzzzz


	15. It's over at last

1It would appear as if I have reached the climax of my story. Now then, in response to a review that I received recently, I must admit that when I started this story, I was unaware that Metroid prime took place before super metroid. As a result, this story was supposed to be the next step within the series, so for all intents and purposes, I'm going to just say that this story takes place after the entire known metroid saga. Thank you.

_**Chapter 15: It's over at last**_

As the door swung open, all five of our heroes (yes, Chirps shall now be counted as a hero) bravely stepped into the shadowed room, but the couldn't help the feelings of fear and dread that they had from simply being in the same room as the council. There was something unnatural about this whole thing. Samus leaned closer to Ridley. "Ridley, do you know anything that might help us against the council?"

Ridley shook his head. "No pirate has ever seen them in their truest forms and lived to tell the tale, Samus... Not even I have, so I don't know what the hell to expect. The entire pirate population knows nothing about our own leaders past the fact that they give us orders."

Nala tilted her head. "Well, if they didn't know anything about them, why wasn't their an uprising? I mean, all those pirates out there, I'm sure that they could all take care of whoever's in charge here." Chirps made a few whistling noises from Nala's arms, probably in agreement.

Phaze shook his head gravely. "I'm afraid that there once was an uprising... if I'm not mistaken, I was still a child when it happened and Ridley was still only a grunt ranger at that point in time. We saw all the rebels marching straight down to level thirty of the base, five hundred soldiers in all. None of them came back and their bones were put on display in living quarters fifteen for all to see... as a warning."

Everyone shuddered and Ridley nodded. "I... remember that. A few of my closest friends were in that rebellion. After I lost them, I kind of... closed off myself to everyone else, took up a military like discipline and that's when I started to work my way through the ranks to one of the best commanding officers of the entire organization."

Samus frowned. "I'm sorry to hear about that, Ridley..."

Ridley shook his head. "No need to apologize. It was bound to happen sooner or later..."

There was a dark chuckle from within the room. "It was a rather large tragedy. We lost a lot of good pawns that day."

Ridley growled. "Show yourself!" he shouted.

Chirps growled and shook with rage in Nala's arms as the lights went on. All of them gasped at what lay before them. There were four massive dragons in front of them. Even Ridley's dragon form didn't compare to the size of these five. "D... Dragons!" Ridley shouted in shock.

All five of the dragons laughed lightly. "Correct, my pawn." It was the gold one that spoke. "We are dragons, as you might have noticed... and we are all disappointed in you, Ridley. To lose such a loyal soul to the enemy."

Ridley pointed his arm cannon up at the dragon. "Cut the bullshit! I know for a fact that you were planing to terminate me as soon as I killed Samus."

This time it was the red dragon that spoke. "You must understand, Ridley, we couldn't let word get out that we had a human within our ranks. If such word got out, it could be disastrous for our reputation. Other races may think that we had gone soft, or gained a sense of mercy, none of which we possess."

Phaze stepped forward, raising his own rifle to them. "So you used us all? We're nothing but toys to you, are we? You are simply using every soldier within this base as a an expendable object to pave your way to universal domination."

The large blue dragon chuckled lightly. "Is it any different than what humans do? They fight needless wars, even amongst themselves and other races, battling for resources and supremacy, just as we do. If you look at it logically, humans... and all intelligent races in fact... are at fault for the same reasons that you are accusing us."

Nala growled and raised her rifle as well. "My race never fights unless we are absolutely threatened, just as you had done when you destroyed my planet. Today, I shall avenge all the lives that you took needlessly!"

Chirps squawked in agreement as he floated next to his new owner, shivering gently, not out of fear, but out of rage."

The pink dragon raised an eyebrow. "You have tamed a metroid? Interesting... how did you manage this? Our top scientists and animal tamers have been trying for cycles to train and tame them."

Nala snorted. "I did nothing but show it kindness. I did not tame it, as you so bluntly put it. Chirps follows me of his own free will."

All the dragons laughed and snorted. Samus raised her own arm cannon. "What drove you all to start this battle? Power? Riches? Resources?"

The gold one shook his head. "No... as a matter of fact, this battle was started long before we were born. Back before space travel was even thought of by man or beast. Dragons were thought to be gods in the eyes of humans. They brought us offerings and in return, we gave them protection, going as far as to fight each other when two human groups clashed. But as time drew on, the humans developed technology and left us to fend for ourselves, dismissing us as nothing but more game for them to hunt. We fought back and war ravaged the land. Us with our infamous breath weapons and magic and the humans with their guns and tanks. For a while, we thought that it would all end for us, until... we got a hold of their own technology. W were more than just stupid beasts, as they had labeled us. We learned how to use their technology against them, to use it to enhance our own abilities. It was not long before the planet was scarred from battle. Humans built ships to escape from both the planet's decay, and our growing power."

Samus raised an eyebrow. "So, when they left, you followed?"

The dragon nodded. "Yes... but we were feared and hated wherever we went. It seemed that our appearance, coupled with the reputation that he had on earth, made it very hard to gain allies, whereas the humans gained them with ease. It was not long before our entire race was dwindled down to so few that we needed to retreat to this planet where we found... the space pirates. They feared us and worshiped us as the humans had once done, even though they had the technology that far surpassed humans at that point. We took our place as their rulers! After several cycles, our true forms were masked and even the pirates themselves forgot that we were dragons. Occasionally, a dragon would 'mysteriously' appear as a soldier in their ranks and would quickly gain status."

Ridley's defenses wavered a bit. "Y-you mean that I... I..."

The gold one smirked a bit. "Very good... we five were are the last known seniors of our race... we have mated over and over again, creating eggs. We feared that something like this would happen, so, for safety reasons, we locked all our eggs into stasis tubes and launched them all over the universe to several other planets. Eventually, those eggs will break out of stasis and hatch, but that won't be for a while... but when it happens, the entire universe will feel a dragon's furry."

Ridley clenched his fist. "This can't be true! You're practically saying that I'm..."

The gold one nodded again. "Yes Ridley... you are our offspring. The offspring of three males and two females and the brother of about one hundred-thousand other eggs."

Ridley couldn't help it, he let out a cry and fired off a missile that flew straight at the gold one and impacted him in the stomach. The gold one grunted and backed up a bit. "You dare to defy us? Then you shall all die here!"

All five dragons flapped their wings, causing strong gusts to roll over them. Nala gulped and Chirps flew back into her arms. "I think you made them mad, Ridley."

Ridley shot Nala a glare. "No shit, cat-girl!"

The green dragon swooped down towards them and shot out a large green beam. All of them jumped to the side. Phaze growled a bit and shot a well-aimed rifle blast at the dragon, catching him in the head. The dragon let out a shriek and charged for Phaze, who ducked out of the way. "Miserable, ungrateful worm! You shall be the first to go!"

Nala, with her cat-like abilities, climbed up to the top of one of the pillars in the room, Chirps beside her. She pointed to the yellow one who was looking around for them, his sights now locking on Samus. Before he could make his move, however. Chirps let out a battle cry and dropped onto his tail, latching on with his mandibles and started to drain life energy from the shrieking dragon. "Get it off, you fools!" he shrieked.

The red one, hearing his alleged brother's cry, dropped down and aimed a bite at Chirps. Chirps dropped off the tail, flying out of the way just as the dragon latched his fangs onto the yellow one's tail, causing him to shriek even louder. The red one quickly let go. "Did I miss?" he asked.

The yellow one growled, examining his tail. "No... you got him..." he said, the sarcasm all too evident in his voice.

They had no time to react as a super missile slammed into their chests, sending them both down onto the ground. Nala grinned from atop the pillar. "Whoops, silly me, I must work on my aim. I was actually planning to hit a little lower than that."

The red one was the first to recover. "That bitch is mine!" he shouted.

Meanwhile, Phaze was locked in combat with the green dragon. It was lucky for him that, even though the dragon had extremely good eyesight in the dark, he would have an easy time dodging around the dragon since his armor was nice and black, making him almost invisible in the dim lighting of the room. He dodged around, firing beam blasts and slashing at the dragon when he was in range with his melee blade.

The dragon growled. "You are really beginning to annoy me, rebel." He started thrashing around, hoping to hit Phaze and keep himself from being hit. Phaze, was unfortunately caught by the tail, and was thrown backwards, right into Ridley and Samus, who were fighting the blue and gold dragon. All three of them skidded to a halt in the middle of the room.

Nala, seeing her friends in danger, and against her own better judgement, jumped down to them, Chirps coming with her. "Guys, are you alright?"

There was a dark chuckle and all five of them looked up to find themselves surrounded by all five dragons. "You won't be for long."

The companions, even in light of the hopeless situation, got up and stood back to back, their cannons raised at whatever dragon they happened to be facing. Phaze sighed. "Well, it's been fun guys. At least we tried."

Nala nodded. "It was fun. In spite of everything, I think that was the most fun I've ever had." Chirps purred and cuddled up close to her.

Ridley looked over at Samus. "Samus... I'm sorry that it had to go down like this. I love you."

Samus smiled. "Shut up, you big lug. I love you too... and I don't ever want to hear you apologize unless you REALLY mess up."

The dragons, unmoved and even a little sickened by this display of emotion, opened their mouths wide, the inside of their throats pulsating with the fires that would soon spell death for all five of them. As they let fly with the deadly projectiles, Samus closed her eyes and flung her arms around Ridley, wanting to be in his arms when it all ended. She waited for death to come for her.

She waited for five seconds...

Ten seconds...

Fifteen seconds...

Finally, she was convinced that she was dead until she heard a soft humming noise around them. As she opened her eyes, she saw the source of the humming. An illuminating shield was around all five of them, the dragon's attacks bouncing off of it harmlessly.

She let go of Ridley and looked around in awe, as did her companions. Ridley walked up to the edge and touched it. It rippled gently, but didn't falter.

There was another flash of white and Samus gasped as three Chozo ghosts appeared before them. Two of them were garbed in simple warrior clothing and carried spears. But the third was wearing royal clothing and a headdress that signified him as a leader of the Chozo. Samus bowed slightly, but the ghost waved it off.

Samus came forward. "Did... did you three put this Shield around us?" she asked.

The ghost did not speak, but simply nodded. He came forward and took Samus and Ridley's hand, putting them together. Ridley tilted his head. "You mean... you want us to stay together?"

The ghost nodded again. The two warriors pointed outside the shield. All gasped as they saw the five dragons, now dying outside the shield. It looked as if their hearts had been burned out of their chests. Ridley shuddered. "This gives me a very uncomfortable feeling of deja vu..."

Samus nodded, remembering what he meant. When they had fought on Tallon IV, the Chozo magic had been his undoing, the outcome similar to what had happened to the dragons.

The two warriors looked to Phaze, Nala, and Chirps. The raised their spears in salute. Phaze returned the salute with his rifle while Nala simply curtsied and Chirps gave a satisfied squeak. The ghosts turned to go, but the elder stopped. Turning to Samus, he said, in a weathered voice, "We will always watch over you child... destroy what they have tried to create... you must stop their offspring before they hatch... May the gods watch you."

The shield, along with the ghosts, disappeared. Samus sighed. "Let's go... We've got work to do."

Ridley nodded. "Don't worry, I'm with you. I don't want to leave you after everything that's transpired. The ghost was right, we need to stop all those eggs before they hatch, before something like this happens again." He turned to Nala, Chirps, and Phaze. "You guys don't have to come with us if you don't want."

Nala smirked. "Are you kidding? I'll go wherever you guys want! There's no way I could leave you guys now!" Chips squawked in agreement.

Phaze nodded as well. "I refuse to leave as well. I do think that I could be of some use."

Everyone laughed and started towards the exit, but they stopped as they heard a roar. Everyone turned to see the gold dragon standing again, even with a gaping hole in his chest when his heart had been. Blood spurt from it every time he let out a labored breath. "I refuse to let you defeat me! If I must go, I shall take you all with me!"

He lunged at them, Nala being the one in the most danger from being so close. All of them let loose a flurry of attacks from every angle, hoping to take him down before he reached them, but he was relentless. He roared again as he reached Nala and thrust forward with his claw. Phaze jumped and knocked her out of the way, tumbling with her as the claw impaled the ground.

He opened his mouth in one final roar before Samus launched a super missile into his mouth, destroying his skull and making his brains splatter all over the place, his body landing on the ground, lifeless and useless."

Ridley, steel-faced, walked towards it. "You could have been the father that I never knew... the one that could have raised me from infancy... why did it all have to turn out this way? You would have killed your own son just to see the universe bow to you..."

Samus walked up and realized that Ridley was crying. "Ridley... please, let's go."

Ridley nodded and was about to go, wiping the tears away, but there was another flux of movement and the blue one coughed a bit. "He ain't your father, boy... none of us are... your father died when he went on a crusade against the humans... your mother died shortly after she gave birth to you and your brothers and sisters... none of those eggs survived... none... but... you..." He coughed again. "Please, I know that I cannot ask anything of you, not after what has transpired, but please... give these young ones a chance... we fought because we were raised to believe that all other races were evil... they haven't been taught that... please... save them... give them the future that we never... had..." He dropped to the ground, lifeless like the others.

Ridley looked at his arm cannon and then to the other dragons. "Consider this my final duty as a fellow dragon." He turned and walked back to Samus, who nodded in understanding.

Ridley smiled. "You were lucky, Samus... to have such a family, that cares for you so much, even after death.

Samus nodded gently. "Even after death, they still think of me as one of their own... as their child..." a few tears slipped from her face as she hugged Ridley tightly as he returned her hug.

Nala grunted as she got up, helping Phaze up as well. "Um... thanks... and I'm sorry."

Phaze tilted his head. "Sorry for what?" he asked.

Nala blushed. "I was stupid and believed that all space pirates were evil for what they did. I forgot too easily that they are just like any other creature." She pat Chirps as he flew into her arms again.

Phaze chuckled. "No need. You had a right to be angry... I place no fault on you." He offered her his arm, which she took gently as she was led back towards Ridley and Samus.

Silence followed as they headed back towards the ship. All was quiet in the base. Having probably already gotten word of their leader's demise, they all fled, most of the docking bays were now empty. All but two ships remained. Ridley's ship, Samus' ship still attached to it. All of them grinned and headed into it, the engines fired up and they took off.

Alright, there is the final battle. Not much of one, ne? I am horrible at fights, I know... really, this is probably my worst fight description ever! You are all inclined to agree too. But I do think that I displayed good emotion in everything else. And there will be an Epilogue, so don't stop reading just yet! Finally, be prepared for a sequel to this story as well. "Dragon Hunt" coming soon! W00T!


	16. It ends and begins again

1And so this story comes to a close. A quick thanks to some of my loyal reviewers:

To Jenni123: You were the first of many to review this story. Be proud, for you were the first to enforce my will and determination to see this fic through to it's end.

To Blackened Diamond: Thanks for pointing out a few of the genetic mistakes that I made when Ridley's brain was first implanted into the human body. It was a big help and kept me from defying the laws of science!

To Ray Ray Ray: You were the first to actually demand that I keep writing. I shall admit that I wasn't too keen on being ordered around at first, but I think I have become a pretty good slave monkey at about this time.

To Cerse Liminara: The first one to actually point out my poor spelling of Ridley's name in the early chapters of the story. Thanks for that or I probably would have suffered some major embarrassment this whole story through.

To Darth Nat: Congrats, you were the first to actually tell me how impossible and stupid this fic was. You know, maybe saying that this is a thanks is too nice, but all the same, you were one of the first to review the story, so I guess that counts for something...

To Mystdragon2k: My friend, you were the first to give this story a rating from one to ten! I am happy to inform everyone that I received an eight! W00T!

To Matt Shockoff: The first to look at my story in a very psychological way... excellent brain building stuff!

To Molekiller: The one who said he was jealous of how quickly this story became popular. Hang in there dude! Your stories are wonderful. I've read them and I'm telling everyone who's reading this now to go and read Molekillers Samus/Ridley stories right... after you review this Epilogue.

To Warior: Probably my most loyal reviewer who stuck by me from the beginning to the end. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.

To insomniac by Choice: (Censored) you. You were the first to call this fic a failure.

Rougue: Possibly one of the most inquisitive of my reviewers who asked several questions in the earlier reviews. And I LIKE questions! They gave me lots on inspiration! So you get a lot of super salty jellyfish!

To everyone else who offered random generic praise and support to this fic: Thanks a hell of a lot! I could never thank you all enough for how kind you were to review my work and say that you liked it! I hope to see you all reviewing my other stories as well and good luck to you all in your own writing ventures.

Well, with the thanks out of the way, I believe it is time for us to get on with that final chapter of 'I'm human?'

_**Epilogue: It ends and it begins again**_

Samus sat with Ridley, Nala, Chirps, and Phaze in the meeting hall of a large space station. As it turned out, not all the humans had been destroyed when the pirates had decided to blow up the earth. In fact, nearly half the worlds population had gotten off in time. Of course, some humans should have been left there.

The government officials, the same ones who had laughed in Ridley and Samus' face when they had tried to warn them about metroid core, were now standing in front of them, smiling. The bastards had taken a secret shuttle off the planet and weren't even going to bother with a full planetary evacuation procedure. The cleared their throats and walked up to where Samus and her friends now sat.

One of the larger men was the first to speak. "Samus, Ridley, Nala, Phaze, Chirps, we are in your debt. Thank you all for ridding us of the pirate menace once and for all. As a reward for your hard work and dedication, we would like to reward you by giving you the opportunity to join the elite guard of the universe. What do you say?"

Samus grinned and stood up. "Sir, we anticipated this offer, so we have each prepared our own answer for you."

Phaze cleared his throat. "I am afraid that, since it would be rather odd to fight alongside a race who was thought to be my sworn enemy for all these years, I must decline. So sorry, but I don't think that you would have much use for one you had so many times branded as an enemy."

Nala, who was still wearing the helmet for translator reasons, looked the human leaders over. "I don't really see why you would want a kitty like me on the guard I'm sure that the tremors that you people cause when you walk would be enough to keep the enemy away from you." Chirps whistled his agreement.

Ridley's response was quick and effective. Raising his hands and extending his middle fingers, he said, "Fuck you." He chuckled a bit at their vacant stairs to the four responses they had received so far.

Finally, Samus broke the silence. "As you can see, we all think that you should shove that offer right up your fat ass. We prefer the bounty hunter's life, thank you."

All four of the ones who could, saluted and walked out, hearing a satisfying string of curses from inside the office. They wasted no time in getting back to their own ship. Samus and Ridley had actually welded their ships together, combining the two computers to create quite a formidable craft.

Everyone boarded the ship and it buzzed to life as all the systems were brought online. Ridley smiled and sat next to Samus. "Are you sure about this?" he asked her.

Samus smiled and kissed him lightly, fingering the ring that she now wore on her finger. "Ridley, of course I'm sure. You were the one who asked me to marry you, you can't chicken out now. Besides, just because we have a promise to fulfill doesn't mean that we shouldn't forget about what we have with each other."

Nala made a soft purring noise from her seat, Chirps on a pedestal right next to her. "Aww, you guys keep this up and I think I might cry."

Phaze chuckled. On a ship, flying across the galaxy to find stasis tubes holding the eggs of a possibly apocalyptic race with newlyweds? This is going to very interesting very fast."

Samus sighed and turned up the thrusters. "You two shut up. Don't forget, you have jobs to do now. We're part of a team, so don't think that Ridley and I slacking off means that you can."

Nala snorted at her. "Don't worry, we won't. But if you get pregnant in the middle of our hunt, don't come crying to me."

Samus frowned. "And what makes you so sure that I would become pregnant?"

Phaze grinned and cleared his throat, doing a rather convincing impression of Samus. "Oh Ridley, please fuck me harder!"

Samus blushed crimson while Ridley growled. "You bastard, I can't believe that you were listening last night!"

Phaze laughed gently. "I didn't want to, trust me! But you two were so loud that even Chirps couldn't get any sleep."

Chirps squawked and bobbed up and down, signifying that he agreed. Samus sighed. "Oh be quiet, we're entering hyperspeed in five... four... three... two... one... zero..."

The ship seemed to disappear in one swift flash of white light, contrasting the black space around them that was dotted with stars of all shapes and sizes. From somewhere, a few stars seemed to shine brighter and the picture of a large chozo could be seen from within those stars, smiling as the ship faded. "Godspeed to your... child of the Chozo."

**_THE END_**


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